Aesthetic labour, cost minimisation and the labour process in the Asia Pacific airline industry

Citation

Waring, P. (2006), "Aesthetic labour, cost minimisation and the labour process in the Asia Pacific airline industry", Strategic Direction, Vol. 22 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2006.05622fad.005

Aesthetic labour, cost minimisation and the labour process in the Asia Pacific airline industry

Aesthetic labour, cost minimisation and the labour process in the Asia Pacific airline industry

Spiess L. and Waring P. Employee Relations, 2005 Vol. 27 No. 2, Start Page: 193, No of pages 14

Purpose – Low cost carriers (LCC) in the Asia Pacific are pursuing a strategy of marketing the aesthetic qualities of their cabin crew in order to differentiate their “value proposition”. This strategy concentrates on the physical dispositions of employees, thus mobilising the concepts of aesthetic and sexualised labour for commercial purposes. This paper aims to investigate some of the practical and ethical issues of such a strategy. In addition, the paper seeks to explore the boundary between the theoretical concepts of aesthetic and sexualised labour. Design/methodology/approach – Presents two vignettes from the emerging LCC industry in the Asia Pacific. The first vignettes is of Virgin Blue, a LCC operating in the Australian domestic airline industry; the second vignette is of Air Asia, first established as a domestic LCC in Malaysia, but has now expanded to international short-haul routes within the region. Findings – The strategic deployment of aesthetic and sexualised labour in LCCs is ethically problematic on a number of levels. Concomitantly, this strategy is potentially undermined by the contradictory focus on cost minimisation, essential for LCC survival. Thus, the use of aesthetic and sexualised labour as a commercial strategy has the potential to become unstable over time because of the competitive dynamics and the somewhat paradoxical need to reduce costs while improving service standards. Originality/value – The conceptual boundary between aesthetic and sexualised labour is explored in the new LCC industry in the Asia Pacific. The ethical and practical consequences, and the sustainability of such a strategy in this new environment are considered.Article Type: ViewpointISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords: Airlines, Competitive advantage, Marketing strategy, Professional ethics