Overwhelmed IT systems partly to blame for JetBlue meltdown

Computerworld - Several issues with its IT systems contributed to JetBlue Airways Corp.'s fiasco after it was forced to cancel more than 1,000 flights after an ice storm last week, a spokesman said today.

"For one [thing], we didn't have enough of our home-office employees or crew members trained on our reservation system," said spokesman Eric Brinker. "So while we were dispatching people to the airports to help, which was great, they weren't trained to actually use the computer system. So we're going through a process now where we're actively training those crew members."

Brinker said the discount airline is also in the process of expanding the capabilities of its reservation crew members so they can accept more inbound calls.

"We basically maxed out," Brinker said. "We're working on a system to be able to automatically notify them better to take phone calls."

In the middle of the crisis, JetBlue's IT department developed a database that allowed the airline's scheduling team to improve multitasking, Brinker said.

"They were receiving tons of phone calls from our crew members, and we created a database to enter in the whereabouts of our crew members. Then that information would sync up with the information about the crew members that was in the main system," Brinker said. "Now, 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. We do that by cross-referencing where the crew members say they are versus where the computer says they are, which weren't always in sync."

Brinker said the airline had never experienced a full meltdown before, so it hadn't needed to use this type of database. The system, which was developed in 24 hours and implemented in the middle of JetBlue's crisis, has now been implemented as a full-time system, he said.

"It's a real behind-the-scenes improvement for both our crew members and customers," he said.

The reservation system is hosted by Navitaire Inc. and the crew tracking system is a product from air-travel software company Sabre Holdings Corp., said JetBlue CIO Duffy Mees. The airline is a Microsoft Windows-only shop and also runs mySap ERP software from SAP AG.

Brinker said JetBlue is also improving the way it communicates with its customers, including pushing out automated flight alerts to customers via e-mail and mobile devices. The company issued a Customer Bill of Rights citing steps the airline will take in the event of future delayed flights, cancellations and other issues.

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