JetBlue Cites Overwhelmed IT Systems in Meltdown

Computerworld -

JetBlue Airways Corp. last week acknowledged that faulty IT processes contributed to its decision to cancel more than 1,000 flights in the days following an ice storm earlier this month.

“For one [thing], we didn’t have enough of our home-office employees or crew members trained on our reservation system,” said Eric Brinker, a spokesman for the Forest Hills, New York-based airline.

“So while we were dispatching people to the airports to help, which was great, they weren’t trained to actually use the computer system,” he said. “So we’re going through a process now where we’re actively training those crew members.”

The company’s reservation system is hosted by Navitaire Inc., a Minneapolis-based provider of applications for airlines, said JetBlue CIO Duffy Mees. The crew-tracking system is from air-travel software company Sabre Holdings Corp. in Southlake, Texas, Mees said.

The airline is a Microsoft Windows-only shop and also runs mySAP ERP software from SAP AG, according to company information.

Brinker noted that in the midst of the crisis, JetBlue’s IT department developed a database that quickly allowed the airline’s scheduling team to improve its multitasking capabilities.

“They were receiving tons of phone calls from our crew members, and we created a database to enter the whereabouts of our crew members,” he said. “That information would sync up with the information about the crew members that was in the main system.

“Now,” Brinker said, “during a weather situation, our flight crews and flight hands can call us and give us the location of where they are, and we can start to rebuild the airline immediately using this tool.”

The system, which was developed in 24 hours and implemented in the aftermath of the Feb. 14 storm, is now running companywide, Brinker said. “It’s a real behind-the-scenes improvement for both our crew members and customers,” he noted.

Brinker said that JetBlue is also updating its IT systems to allow for improved communication with customers. For example, the company is working to push out automated flight alerts to customers via e-mail and mobile devices.

As a result of its problems following the storm, the airline last week issued a “customer bill of rights” citing steps that it would take in the event of future problems.

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