Government
Leadership and Service Transformation at Air Niugini – PNG Government
Transforming leadership and service culture to rebuild trust and uplift customer experience.
Strategic outcome sought
Air Niugini, Papua New Guinea’s national airline, engaged RDL at a time of operational pressure, cultural fragmentation and evolving customer expectations. The CEO required an independent assessment of leadership capability and the behavioural barriers disrupting performance and service delivery.
The goal was to strengthen leadership, rebuild culture and uplift customer experience in a way that could restore confidence internally and externally.
Our process
RDL commenced with a comprehensive diagnostic across the airline. Eighty one on one interviews were conducted with leaders and staff from frontline roles to the executive team. The insights revealed capability gaps, weak accountability, communication breakdowns and inconsistent service standards that were affecting customer experience and internal cohesion.
RDL presented the Board with thirteen critical issues and aligned solutions. The findings were endorsed immediately and entrusted to the newly appointed CEO, who embraced a modern, people centred transformation mandate.
RDL was then retained to design and deliver leadership development for emerging, mid level and senior leaders. Sixty eight leaders completed the program, strengthening confidence, behavioural discipline and decision capability. This work created the leadership foundation required for broader change.
In parallel, RDL designed and facilitated a whole of airline customer experience initiative that engaged over two thousand seven hundred and fifty employees. The focus was reconnecting staff with the privilege and responsibility of serving the travelling public and embedding pride in the airline’s role.
Creating legacies
The customer experience initiative evolved into Paradise Moments, now widely recognised across the airline as a defining approach to service culture. It blends authentic Pacific warmth with professional standards and has become a unifying narrative for how Air Niugini cares for its passengers.
Leadership capability, cultural alignment and customer pride were strengthened through consistent development, shared language and visible ownership at executive level.
The result
The combined leadership and customer experience transformation:
• Built a strong leadership spine
• Improved service consistency and engagement
• Lifted cultural alignment across the airline
• Reconnected staff with purpose and public service
• Positioned Air Niugini to rebuild trust, pride and customer loyalty
The airline emerged with greater confidence, clearer expectations and a renewed sense of identity across its workforce and travelling community.
