In the Harvard Business IdeaCast (see audio player below), Harvard Business School Professor Rohit Deshpande discusses one airline that's not just surviving the current downturn, but thriving: Singapore Airlines. Why is Singapore offering complimentary espresso on flights when others are charging for luggage and taking away in-flight movies? How has the company avoided the doom and gloom that so many other carriers face?

By staying out of what Deshpande says is a loser's game of competing for customers on price, of treating them like commodities.

Click here to hear the podcast