Community Builder | Pipeline Accelerator | Redefining Airline Operations & Crew Management | Airline Crewing Enigma Solver | Moderator | Conférencier
After visiting over 130 airline operations control centers and working with 350+ airlines since 2002, I've come to a startling conclusion: the airline industry is stuck in a time warp, and not the fun Rocky Horror Picture Show kind. Picture this: It's 2024, and while you're booking your flight on a sleek smartphone app, behind the scenes, airlines are running on IT systems old enough to be your grandparents. One US airline's system could legally retire, another US airline's IT is experiencing a midlife crisis, and other US, European and Asian airlines might as well be powered by hamsters on wheels. But why change? After all, nothing says 'reliability' like a system that predates the moon landing, right? When disruptions hit, it's like watching a game of high-stakes whack-a-mole. Ops controllers juggle more screens than an octopus with ADHD, desperately seeking that one crucial piece of info hidden in the digital haystack. Meanwhile, management's go-to move? Blame the weather, ATC, or perhaps Mercury in retrograde. Anything but admitting their tech is older than most of their pilots' first solo flights. The irony? Airlines spend fortunes on planning optimization, crafting schedules so perfect they'd make Michelangelo weep. Then reality hits, and it all goes out the window faster than you can say 'delayed due to technical issues.' But hey, why fix what's (barely) working? Change is scary, especially when you've hired an army of system loyalists who'd rather wrestle a live bear than question the status quo. So next time you're stuck in an airport, watching the departure board light up like a Christmas tree of delays, remember: somewhere, in a dimly lit room, there's an overworked ops, crew and hub controller trying to save the day using #technology that remembers the Cold War. Welcome to the airline industry, where the only thing not taking off is progress. #leadership #aviation #innovation #airtravel
Daniel Stecher
7mo
I strongly recommend Sapna‘s post and the webinar she shared https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sapna-nair-06856919_singlesourceoperations-airlineoperationsmanagement-activity-7224121953710731266-ZmXw
Daniel Stecher
6mo
Change doesn't have to be a nosedive into the unknown. It can be a controlled ascent into new possibilities. Remember, every great journey begins with a single step - or in our case, a single click to upgrade. So, what do you say, fellow aviation enthusiasts? Are we ready to file a new flight plan for the future? The boarding gate to change is open - who's ready to take off? https://www.linkedin.com/posts/danielstecher_management-technology-aviation-activity-7226474142957531136-jzYR?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Daniel Stecher
6mo
I promised to continue our journey this week with another article about RFP processes. https://lnkd.in/eCR3ErZb
Daniel Stecher
6mo
Well, well, well... it seems our beloved airline industry is caught in a turbulent love affair with the status quo. Who would've thought that in an industry built on the dream of flight, we'd be so terrified of letting our operations soar to new heights? Leading the pack in our ongoing poll https://lnkd.in/ejGpzcdT we have "Fear of disrupting current ops" at 33%. Apparently, we're more comfortable with the devil we know than the efficiency we don't. It's like we're flying a Wright brothers' plane and refusing to upgrade because, hey, it hasn't crashed yet! Hot on its heels, we have "System loyalist resistance" at 29%. Ah yes, our dear friends who believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it - even if it's held together with duct tape and wishful thinking. "Lack of visionary leadership" comes in third at 22%. Seems like in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is still stuck in middle management. Bringing up the rear, "Complex/outdated RFP processes" at 16%. Apparently, navigating our RFP process is still easier than navigating our fear of change. Who needs innovation when you have a 200-page requirements document, right?
Daniel Stecher
6mo
Watch an insightful panel discussion https://youtu.be/1cNNzHcTZJo
James Redeker
7mo
Sometimes, it’s a matter of perspective. I spent 25 years in flight dispatch and my favourite phrase was, “nobody has more fun than us”. Thankfully, I never lost a plane (under my watch). Maybe I was lucky. Maybe I was good. Sometimes, being good is just a matter of luck. I used to describe the job as, the only time you can have the absolute worst day of your aviation career, walk out to the parking lot after your shift, take a deep breath and say, “yeah, let’s do it again tomorrow”. Being in Ops was an amazing career, even through the sleepless night, the swearing, the late sick calls, the IT outages, the IROPS, and everything that goes with it. What do I miss the most? The people. I certainly don’t miss the IROPS though.
Chris Belanger
7mo
I'm not going to argue that these systems shouldn't be upgraded but let me offer a possible reason why such change meets resistance: Having just lived through three IT "improvements" in the past two years. I'll offer a small perspective. For all three systems, the older system had limitations that were known and were managed. Special cause variation would rear its ugly head occasionally but would return to normal cause when the stimulus for the special cause was removed. The introduction of all three systems introduced special cause variation stimuli every day. Functions that the older system would do easily, were now difficult or impossible (until the next software revision). Because these systems are integral to the proper functioning of the airline and in most cases have a regulatory component to them, implementing a new system introduces a very present risk. Airline managers are very risk averse. As an operations manager, would you rather be (metaphorically)smacked with an iron bar for a short period, knowing that the beating would eventually stop, or be smacked not knowing when it might end? It's easy to say, "let's fix our systems." Doing it is often a Pandora's box of issues. Then there's the cost...
Chris Snyder
7mo
Yes there are systems that are quite dated but ironically those systems are the ones that rarely go down, from my experience. Ironically, the US nuclear deterrence, our launch sites still use dated launch systems for security reasons. The systems that go down are the cloud based ones. From an airline management background, I like the thought of individual software on each computer desktop, I understand that software architecture has changed in time but from a redundancy standpoint, if the system could run stand alone, I’d prefer that. Cloud based systems, if used by multiple airlines will take an entire industry to its knees, if the software were popular enough to used by multiple airlines. I’ve had many a software sales pitches and one claim that always makes me bristle was the claim of 99.999 system up time. The reality is that things fail. Mechanical systems fail, software fails, humans make mistakes but when you use an all encompassing software that touches almost every level of your business, that is a significant operational risk that is beyond my comfort level. Operating different software, while not efficient, does provide for risk mitigation that one system or two will not single handely take down your business.
Zsolt Nadas
6mo
As a former tech leader in an airline, I think major change is needed in the way airlines think about technology. Tendering makes sense in a commodity world- aircraft parts, slots… all these things are controllable commodities where lowest price truly does win. An airline technology ecosystem is a combination of commodity-like components interacting with custom, strategic components. Failure to correctly identify what is commodity, what is strategic, and thus using the same tender approach to both helps ensure no change in the current state of solutions. And worse, if you already have a round hole, your tender will never choose a square peg. Airline digital transformation in the revenue side has been dramatic. New products, pricing strategies, chatbots, etc. all to make the customer happy. But I think airlines have lost sight of the fact that their initial commitment is to safely and reliably getting passengers from A to B. The digital transformation must extend past commercial areas to address the gaps in operations.
Community Builder | Pipeline Accelerator | Redefining Airline Operations & Crew Management | Airline Crewing Enigma Solver | Moderator | Conférencier
7moBTW: the Airline Crewing Enigma - Expert Think Tank is a fantastic community for professionals in the airline industry! With over 780 members representing 204 airlines, it’s clear that there’s a wealth of expertise and collaboration opportunities within the group. If you’re looking to connect with industry peers, share insights, and stay updated on the latest trends in airline crew management, this community is definitely worth considering. https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12693650 I encourage anyone interested in advancing their knowledge and networking within the airline industry to check it out and become part of this vibrant community. More details and all earlier aviation industry expert presentations you get here https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/airline-crewing-enigma-expert-think-tank-daniel-stecher/