Singapore Airlines says it is working to cut bureaucracy within the organisation, as part of its transformation programme.

Speaking at the airline's first-half results briefing, SIA Group chief executive Goh Choon Phong says this is part of making the group leaner. An example is a new approval process, implemented on 1 November, which requires no more than three levels of clearance "to get the final go ahead".

Previously, he says some decisions could require up to eight levels of approvals.

He adds that SIA's transformation programme features over 60 initiatives across its business.

These include a group-wide network review, a new revenue management system, leveraging data to optimise fuel uplift, and setting up a new customer experience division for to focus on "customer journey".

"This transformation is not merely about restructuring our cost base to see how we can be more effective, but importantly it is looking for opportunities to grow our revenue and to make sure the orgranisation can be a lot more effective in the way we do our decision-making and in the way we review our projects," says Goh.

The three-year transformation programme, launched in May, is aimed at better positioning the group for future growth.

The review was flagged as the airline disclosed an 8.5% drop in operating profit to S$623 million ($448 million) for the 2017 fiscal year ended 31 March, as pressure on yields continued. Attributable net profit meanwhile plunged 55% to S$360 million.

In the second quarter of the current 2018 fiscal year, group operating profit more than doubled to S$232 million, while revenue grew by 5.3% to S$3.85 billion. In the first half, group operating profit climbed nearly 70% to S$513 million, while revenue increased by 5.5% to S$7.7 billion.

Source: Cirium Dashboard