Panel Discussions

1
Panel Discussions
AGIFORS 2003 Airline Operations Conference

• Effective Implementation of Decision Support
  Tools
• Michael Clarke, Sabre Holdings (moderator)
• Tim Niznik, American Airlines
• Ian Russell, Air New Zealand
• Robert Viertel, Lufthansa Cityline
• User Interface Design, Development, and
  Experience
• John-Paul Clarke, MIT
• Peter Geard, Air New Zealand
• Ladislav Lettovsky, Sabre Inc. (moderator)

2
Effective Implementation of Decision Support Tools

• Why does an airline operations control center
  need decision support tools?
• What are the problems that we are trying to
  solve?
• What are the underlying business processes that
  need to be considered?
• What is the best way to deliver such tools?
• Why has it taken so long for airlines to accept
  decision support tools in the operations arena?
• What lessons have we learnt so far?

3
Effective Implementation of Decision Support Tools

• So much data/information, so little time!
• Schedule/Aircraft/Passenger recovery, maintenance
  routing
• Interaction between business units within the ops
  center
• Interaction with external suppliers (atc,
  catering, airports)
• Leveraging exists systems within the working
  environment
• Not the fire-hose approach
• We were solving the wrong problem an airline in
  a complex network of resources interacting with
  each other!
• Understanding the end users needs we need to
  build solutions that parallel current business
  practices.