A MAGAZINE FOR AIRLINE EXECUTIVES 2009 Issue No. 2

Planning departments follow industry best practices to compete

Global carriers take various steps to remain in the black

Air Malta makes big changes across entire organizations

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A Conversation With … Dave Barger, President And Chief Executive Officer, JetBlue Airways, Page 14.

T a k i n g y o u r a i r l i n e t o n e w h e i g h t s

Happy Jetting

© 2009 Sabre Inc. All rights reserved. wearelistening@sabre.com

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A trip that occurs on a beautiful, clear, sunny day with no disruptions, no hassles — just smooth sailing

through the airport and an on-time flight to their destinations where their luggage is waiting at the baggage carousel.

These represent some expectations of airline customers when they plan their next trip and select a carrier. They base their selection on various factors such as ticket price, the schedule or maybe even the type of aircraft. Another major consid-eration likely relates directly to the posi-tive experience and superior service they received on a previous flight.

And while not every day is beauti-ful, sunny and hassle free, the successful carrier must still deliver its promise. The customer, having booked a flight and pur-chased a ticket, now has a contract with the carrier for air transportation to the desired destination. The carrier is obligated to fulfill this contract — its promise — and, how that promise is delivered is key to the carrier’s success.

Regardless of the circumstances, delivering the promise is a fundamental requirement 365 days a year. And during irregular operations, it is much more impor-tant to deliver in a manner that exceeds customers’ expectations, which will likely bring them back time and time again.

To help carriers honor their vow each and every day, Sabre Airline Solutions® developed and launched Sabre® AirCentre™ Enterprise Operations.

TheSolutionComprising end-to-end, integrated,

next-generation technology, the Sabre AirCentre solution enables carriers to seamlessly and professionally manage their operations to include successful manage-ment during disruptions — at the lowest operating cost.

The integrated solution helps airlines make better and faster decisions about their operations, and it is founded on three primary operational principles:1. To help carriers (from planning through

execution) efficiently maintain control of their operations, which stretch from their centralized systems operations control center to the operations at their airports;

2. To help carriers optimally manage change, from operational disruptions to new business models or technology being introduced;

3. To help carriers provide the desired cus-tomer-service experience based on their unique operating models. With the Sabre AirCentre solution, carriers can now opti-mize the full scope of their operations

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Advanced operations technology helps carriers “deliver the promise” to their valued customers who, by booking flights and purchasing tickets, have a contracted “promise.”

By Dave Roberts | Ascend Contributor

while selecting the degree of customer service that best fits their corporate phi-losophy.

These operational principles make it possible for carriers to provide the cus-tomer experience they want to achieve while delivering their promise and keeping operational costs down.

AViewAcrossTheEnterpriseCarriers benefit from day-of-opera-

tions solutions that are integrated across all operational areas to provide real-time data when it is needed. To accomplish this, Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations focuses on its four major components that span carrier operations — with capabilities across flight operations, crew manage-ment, airport operations and maintenance control.

FlightOperationsSabre® AirCentre™ Flight presents the

integrated core elements of flight opera-tions, including movement control, flight planning, dispatch, load planning, weight and balance, and ACARS communication. Working together, these elements provide productivity enhancements for airline users that enable them to be more efficient. Flexibility, speed and user-friendly inter-faces are key measures for movement controllers as well as flight and load plan-ners in the operations offices. The solution reduces the level of dispatcher data entry and supports a paperless flight operations office.

Sabre AirCentre Flight enables air-lines to manage their flight operations from flight planning and tracking to load planning, movement control and irregular operations. The process begins with a reli-able flight schedule, which is key to the service an airline offers, and maintaining its integrity is primary.

The core of the Flight component is the movement control system, which is integrated with the flight scheduling system and the maintenance control sys-tem. Sophisticated aircraft tail-assignment algorithms optimize aircraft assignments to ensure schedule continuity from plan-ning to operations. During the day of operations, a what-if-scenario environ-ment for automated and optimized solu-tions assists when disruptions occur. The movement control system provides opera-tions controllers with a better view of impending operational issues that can lead to delays, along with tools to resolve the problem quickly and efficiently. The system also provides proactive alerts, a graphical user interface and swap sugges-tions, enabling effective management of

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Single data entry across airline operations

Simplified and automated business processes

the operational schedule with little or no controllable delays.

Within the Sabre AirCentre flight planning engine routes, altitudes and flight speeds are selected considering legal requirements, weather and air traffic con-straints. Connecting flights and fuel con-sumption are also evaluated when deter-mining the flight plan. The flight planning tool calculates the optimum flight plan based on variable cost parameters and indices when considering all these factors.

Using this optimum flight plan, flight planners check maintenance status of the aircraft; weight limitations for each segment of the flight, route and altitude restrictions; required fuel for operation to destination; and contingency fuel to alternate airports based on current and forecasted weather.

As part of the important weight-and-balance process, load planners develop the optimum load plan for aircraft loading and unloading as well as for the best center of gravity for reduced fuel burn en route.

Airlines today monitor their on-time performance and fuel utilization very close-ly. New technology is available to improve both of these key areas. This technology enables airlines to analyze the designated flight plan and alert the flight planner of impending air traffic control delays before flight departure. With this technology, air-lines can file alternative flight plans and avoid unnecessary ground holds or burning additional fuel in a holding pattern while en route.

CrewManagementSabre® AirCentre™ Crew helps car-

riers efficiently manage crewmembers. Beginning months before the day of opera-tions, the Crew component considers major crew scheduling areas such as creating a crew plan, determining required qualifica-tions and deciding where crewmembers will be based. Successful crew scheduling ensures that legal and qualified crewmem-bers are assigned to each flight.

The use of effective staff planning systems enables the creation of more-exact hiring and training policies that will drive availability of critical resources when need-ed on the day of operations. Manpower planning, vacation/leave allocation, crew training and crew communications are han-dled with ease through automated tools.

Using industry-best-practice tools and the most advanced algorithms, crew schedulers effectively build optimized crew rosters that consider crew preferences, an optimal schedule and the lowest operat-ing cost. And using automated decision-support tools to schedule crewmembers, crew planners determine and simulate the potential impact of operational variations

such as changes to schedules, equipment types, crew-base locations and other sup-porting resources.

If the crew operation is disrupted due to unplanned crew absences or operational disruptions, crew schedulers can use opti-

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mized recovery solutions to immediately identify alternate resources for impacted flights. The recovery optimizers also return crewmembers to their original schedule as soon as possible following the disruption.

Throughout the process, access to a flexible, powerful, easy-to-use, natural-language rules engine enables a carrier to react quickly and efficiently. Whether it’s a change in the carrier’s business model, a new labor agreement or changing govern-ment regulations, crew schedulers can model the new requirements, deploy the new rule set and determine the impact on the crew schedule in a timely manner.

AirportOperationsSabre® AirCentre™ Airport helps

carriers manage their staff and ground resources, including personnel-staffing levels, ground equipment and end-to-end management of gates. The Airport com-ponent encompasses the entire scope of operations from resource planning through day-of-operations management. Working together, the SOC and the many airports around a carrier’s system successfully manage the day of operations.

Effective gating processes help ensure a smooth flow of arriving and departing flights, reducing fuel burn and mitigating gate “wait” time. Using robust technology, in tandem with their personal experience and reasoned judgment, gate planners develop an optimal gate schedule and proactively respond to flight changes as they occur.

Staff planners schedule ground staff and equipment based on actual work demand created from the flight schedule, ensuring an optimized plan without com-promising the customer experience.

Automatically accounting for work standards, employee agreements and the incoming work demand, staff administra-tors expeditiously and accurately build ros-ters based on user-defined rostering rules. Employees are able to manage all their exception requests, such as vacation and overtime, through employee self service. These approved employee exceptions are automatically validated and accounted for as staff administrators assign or award shifts.

On the day of operations, staff man-agers monitor all aspects of airport opera-tions, specifically those events that might trigger service delays and/or additional operational costs.

Using a powerful decision-support and tracking tool, managers and supervi-sors can evaluate workloads and assign-ments and are automatically alerted to flight changes. And when flight disruptions occur, the system’s automated response

reallocates task assignments and resourc-es and notifies airport staff via wireless communications.

MaintenanceControlSabre® AirCentre™ Maintenance

addresses the need for carriers and main-tenance, repair and overhaul organizations to manage maintenance programs, statu-tory compliance requirements, production schedules, materials assets and usage, as well as aircraft and technical staff produc-tivity from planning through execution, all while sustaining cost effectiveness and maximum safety and reliability.

The mechanical condition of aircraft must be constantly monitored. The mainte-nance, repair and overhaul division accom-plishes aircraft service checks and main-tains the airworthiness of the airline fleet.

Maintenance controllers work closely with movement controllers and flight plan-ners to monitor flight status and potential problems that may occur when technical problems exist. In addition, they serve as liaisons between operations controllers and the ground maintenance teams at the airports.

An efficient maintenance program contributes significant benefits:

Performing the right corrective action the first time resulting in fewer creeping delays for maintenance,

Making the unpredictable predictable resulting in fewer unscheduled mechani-cal disruptions and more proactive rather than reactive withdrawals from service,

Programming activities in the right place at the right time and with the right resources reducing duplication of effort and “over-maintenance,”

Coordinating deployment of aircraft to optimize the utilization of the aircraft.

IrregularOperationsWith advancements in information

technology and integration of automated solutions, the ability to manage and con-trol a carrier’s daily operations has sig-nificantly improved — even during irregular operations. These advancements enable increased exchange of information among operational groups, providing the basis for collaborative decision making.

To deliver their promise efficiently, carriers must overcome irregular opera-

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Sabre AirCentre Maintenanceenablesairlinestosuccessfullymanagetheirend-to-endmaintenanceoperationswhilemaintainingcosteffectivenessandmaximumsafetyandreliability.

Photo by Jupiter Images

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tions in a manner that considers both their customers and their business goals. Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations pro-vides sophisticated recovery solutions that enable preplanning of or reaction to disrup-tive situations rapidly and effectively.

Disruptions inevitably occur. To keep each individual flight on schedule, flight and crew controllers react promptly to find a new aircraft. With automated alerts providing advance warn-ing of potential disruptions, controllers have time to take corrective action.

Whatever the magnitude of a disruption, carriers want to return to normal operations as soon as possible to minimize any inconve-nience to passengers and lessen the impact on operational costs. While many irregularities are unavoidable, efficient and timely responses consistent with corporate policies and brand are crucial in maintaining passenger goodwill.

Accomplishing all these things is the intent of Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations, which is based on performance scales that detail the innovative techniques and new tech-nology that provide carriers the ability to more competently manage change while controlling costs.

There are two performance scales. The first scale contains 14 steps leading to improved overall cost control. At the top of the scale are powerful new tools for applying variable-cost-index flight planning and collaborative air-traffic management techniques, plus optimization-based recovery capabilities that minimize dis-ruption cost.

The second performance scale addresses the concepts of managing change that occurs every day during operations and evolves over time according to corporate direction. The top of this scale includes utilization of dynamic en route flight planning, automation of event-driven decision support as well as the full scope of integrated operational recovery.

To recover from disruptions with minimal impact on customers and the operation requires timely and accurate decision making. Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations uses recovery tools to aid in solving customer, flight and crew disruptions with speeds that produce recovery plans in seconds and minutes rather than hours, with each of the recovery plans fully deployable based on flight, aircraft and crew legality.

Recovery from disruptions of any and every size is an essential key to carrier suc-cess. The same integrated operations solutions that are used for operational planning are also used during daily operations as well as during recovery operations, representing a significant advantage to airlines — user familiarity.

Carrier staff members are fully proficient with the Sabre AirCentre tools and comfortable using them. New tools are not used during recovery operations, so operations and crew controllers or dispatchers are able to concen-trate on generating solutions to the problems

rather than having to learn how to use a differ-ent tool.

As a result, the Sabre AirCentre solu-tion is used to its full potential, and business processes are fully adopted, providing greater cost savings.

TheTechnologyNew techniques for today’s airport and

flight operations are prime examples that infor-mation technology continues to change the way information is gathered, compiled and shared

with airlines’ operations staff.Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations

is based on flexible, adaptable technology in an open, modular service-oriented architecture infrastructure, enabling carriers to maintain a modern, futuristic operations environment. The solution’s platform is designed to evolve with a carrier’s ever-changing business needs as the dynamic marketplace changes.

In particular, carriers today are con-cerned about one primary aspect of operations: minimizing costs. Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations is designed to help carriers deliver their promise at the lowest operating cost — period.

Airline customers seek value. The solu-tion provides investment value not only in the tools but also in the integration within the solution, promoting collaboration throughout all areas of a carrier’s operations, resulting in bet-ter, faster and more consistent decisions across the enterprise.

The solution is based on the four pillars of The Sabre Airline Solutions AdvantageSM: flexibility, accessibility, choice and experience. Together, The Sabre Airline Solutions Advantage and Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations are key differentiators in building a superior opera-tions solution for airlines.

The solution also utilizes the Sabre® ASxSM Airline Services Exchange for “just-in-time” information exchange through the service-ori-ented architecture and extensive use of flexible rules engines.

SOA flexibility enables the solution to assist carriers of all sizes and complex-ity worldwide. And as airlines grow through acquisitions or route expansion, the Sabre AirCentre rules engines enable carriers to quickly and efficiently implement company work rules or government regulations without additional information technology investment.

The SOC’s capability to communicate and coordinate among its departments has significantly improved with advancements in information technology. Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations enables improved exchange of information within the SOC as well as among the SOC and external operational groups such as airport control centers, air-traffic control, line-maintenance and hangar facilities, pilots, and engineering departments.

And data exchange is more efficient, response times quicker and employee pro-ductivity increased. With more dependable data accuracy, problems can be analyzed rapidly and more proficiently, enabling better decision making with a proactive (versus reac-tive) posture.

PromiseDeliveredThe contract has been drawn up, and a

promise must be delivered.Airline guests have high expectations

regarding this contract. The carrier is in busi-ness to meet and, as often as possible, exceed these expectations. Combining car-rier expertise and experience with Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations innovation and technological advances is the solution many carriers have chosen, enabling them to deliver the promise and rise above the competition.

Cloudy or sunny, rain or shine, Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations is today’s pathway for carriers to achieve success and the roadmap for furthering successful opera-tions well into the future. Above all, custom-ers definitely take notice — and, they’ll remember superior service when they book their next flight. a

Dave Roberts is senior principal of strategic planning, airline and

flight operations for Sabre Airline Solutions. He can be contacted

at dave.roberts@sabre.com.

Regardless of the circumstances, delivering the promise is a fundamental requirement 365 days a year.

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