Enhancing the flight experience for millions of passengers
Objectives
- Improve traveler experience by enhancing passenger services
- Boost IT agility and resilience to meet evolving business needs
- Transform IT approach through hybrid cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions
- Restore passenger travel following a critical service interruption
Solutions
- Deployed Enterprise Computing Solutions from Unisys, including the Unisys Standard Airline System (USAS) application on Unisys ClearPath® Software platforms, customized specifically to the airline’s operations since the 1980s
- Infrastructure support and a functional help desk as a managed service to process core passenger services
Results
- Enhanced traveler experience and satisfaction through high-service availability and response times
- Enabled prompt reactions to changing environments through strengthened platform interconnectivity
- Identified a unique process that allowed the affected 24,000 passengers to use a streamlined version of the USAS application
Data points
- Processes about 3,000 transactions per second, 365 days a year through ClearPath Software
- Restored aircraft and passenger travel operations within 24 hours and prevented 24,000 passengers from being stranded
The success of a major airline's passenger and freight services relies on a complex network spanning more than 100 destinations across 40 countries.
As part of a larger consortium, it carries out activities such as baggage and cargo handling, IT systems, aircraft maintenance and in-flight catering to provide a top-notch travel experience for passengers. But when an unexpected challenge arose in early 2023, the airline turned to a trusted advisor, Unisys, to quickly solve the problem.
When the airline needed a solution to streamline reservations, ticketing and check-in to ensure its critical passenger services could keep pace with the ever-changing transportation industry, it turned to Unisys. But it couldn’t be just any solution — it had to be reliable yet flexible enough to keep up with the fast-paced and ever-present disruptions. The company deployed the Unisys Standard Airline System (USAS) in the early 1980s; a decision that was put to the test four decades later.
Challenge: Ensuring business continuity across passenger services
Early in 2023, a situation arose that threatened to leave thousands of passengers stranded at airports worldwide. The airline unexpectedly lost all airport communications due to issues within the optical cable network that connected the external airport network with the airline’s internal systems.
Unisys was immediately alerted. Members of Unisys’ travel and transportation solutions team worked tirelessly alongside the airline’s IT and business teams to mitigate the impact. Unisys combined its extensive experience in passenger transportation with its knowledge of USAS to devise a solution. It identified a unique process that allowed the affected 24,000 passengers to use a streamlined version of the USAS application.
Unisys' swift response during this crisis helped to restore aircraft and passenger travel operations, offering in-advance check-in for individual passengers, entire flights or groups of flights and effectively reducing passenger congestion at airport counters.
Solution: Optimizing flights from takeoff to beyond
Unisys has been a steadfast partner of the airline for decades. Unisys designed and maintains USAS, which is the airline’s core passenger processing system. Powered by the ClearPath Software platform, USAS processes about 3,000 transactions per second, 365 days a year. Unisys also provides infrastructure support and a functional help desk to supplement the airline’s passenger services, ensuring high passenger satisfaction. As a trusted partner, Unisys transformed the major airline’s IT approach with highly flexible solutions based on hybrid cloud and SaaS delivery models.
Results: Fueling an unparalleled passenger experience
By partnering with Unisys, the airline is able to meet its clients’ needs for fast and efficient service by increasing service availability and response times through USAS. The solution’s enhanced flexibility and platform interconnectivity have also helped the airline remain competitive and adaptive to any situation — even unexpected ones.
To explore how Unisys can help you manage operations and enhance the traveler experience, visit us or contact us today.