Every other year since 2014, I go glamorous camping — or glamping — in Marfa, a town in the high desert of West Texas surrounded by mountains.
25.08.2023 - 14:20 / skift.com / Justin Dawes / Airlines
Southwest’s debacle late last year was extreme, but mass cancellations are not unheard of in the industry. Actually, they seem to be somewhat common.
Just last year, Spirit Airlines canceled 2,800 flights over 10 days because of tech problems and staff shortages during bad weather. American Airlines and Southwest also canceled 2,000 flights each within a short timeframe last year. Delta Air Lines canceled more than 3,500 flights over five days during severe weather conditions in April 2017, as another notable example.
To top it all off, thousands of flights across the U.S. were grounded this week because of a computer glitch in a piece of the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control technology.
What leads to these issues is always extremely complicated, especially right now with staff shortages during pandemic recovery, but a common thread is that the industry as a whole is operating on outdated tech.
The Delta issue in 2017 was because airplane crews were calling on phones for reassignment, and the lines became jammed — similar to one of the issues Southwest experienced recently.
“I think if you look behind the scenes inside an airline, there’s still a lot of operational processes that are human beings interacting with a siloed system, as opposed to fully automated business processes,” said Samuel Engel, senior vice president of innovation for consultancy ICF International. Prior to his current role, he was head of the firm’s aviation group.
When it comes to airline operations, much of the industry has been focused more on modernizing existing systems rather than digital transformation.
“In that way, they have been leaving value on the table,” Engel said.
Other industries have been able to transform business processes as they upgrade technology. There has been some of that, particularly with airport operations, customer communication, and merchandising and sales. But the outdated operations and related tech creates a problem that’s integrated across the air transport system.
In response to the computer glitch issue this week, the U.S. Travel Association called for tech upgrades to what is known to be outdated air traffic control tech.
“We call on federal policymakers to modernize our vital air travel infrastructure to ensure our systems are able to meet demand safely and efficiently,” said president and CEO Geoff Freeman in a statement.
There is no simple solution because the industry is all about flying living people through the air, so innovation takes a long time because the certainty of safety is most important. Any kind of overhaul really may take years and involve new tech pairing with old tech, as some experts have said.
“Much of the revolution in digital modernization
Every other year since 2014, I go glamorous camping — or glamping — in Marfa, a town in the high desert of West Texas surrounded by mountains.
The official end of summer is near, but that does not mean you have to stop adventuring—especially if you have a stash of miles and points to pay the way. In fact, come fall, airlines, hotels and credit card companies are eager to woo new business after the summer rush, offering special offers and promotions that can refill your loyalty program account in a jiffy. Plus, seasonal perks and benefits often pack extra value into the journey. Here is everything you need to know to make the most of September's best loyalty rewards program deals.
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Hundreds of Moroccan soccer fans desperate to reach Qatar to watch their team become the first from an Arab or African country play in a World Cup semi-final were left stranded on Wednesday as Morocco’s airline scrapped several extra flights.