4. Does the firm have a competitive advantage? Explain. What is the organization’s core competence?

Yes. Completive advantage : Differentiation focus
→ distinguished their service from competitors (5-star standard airline, underlines product development in terms of luxury, excellent quality & service )
→ attractive to sophisticated customers and business travelers

Core competence:
1. Strict standards of service
- Service supervisors who has been discovered that the flights attendants they supervised had deviated from the precise instruction on how to respond to requests from passengers → will be fired

2. Extraordinary services
- The first airline to offer in-flight television viewing on the back of every seat
- Premium service and amenities for premium class passengers (e.g. Included with a business-class ticket were limousine rides to and from the airport, personal assistant with the check-in process, a welcome team helps all first class and business class passengers clear all formalities upon departure and arrival)
- Has 2 enormous spa showers for first class passenger (a first in the industry)

3. High quality of food
- High concern on quality & selection of food that the airline provided
- The catering division was the world's biggest, delivered 115,000 meal trays each day & is making sure the culinary offering is absolutely first class across the airplane 4. Well-trained employees & elites force
- 18,000 flight attendants represented 140 nationalities & spoke more than 140 cities in 70 countries
- High requirement on recruitment & selection (low acceptance rate, young employees--the crew had an average age of 26 years, their weight was carefully monitored, make-up was mandatorily reapplied regularly and unwed pregnancy was not allowed...)
- Offered a vast, no-expense-spared crew training program &