Background
As airlines navigate global competition, increasing customer expectations, and complex regulatory requirements, an agile and integrated system architecture is crucial for their success. Legacy airline systems often lack customization options, flexible interfaces, and mobile and data-sharing capabilities. Modernizing these siloed, outdated systems, which are costly and difficult to maintain, has become a priority for many airlines.
Bits In Glass (BIG) partnered with one of the world’s leading airlines to tackle the challenge of system-to-system integration. They implemented an API-led integration approach that delivered remarkable results. In this case, the airline saved $100 million annually by modernizing its Passenger Service System (PSS). This API transformation enabled the airline to increase operational efficiency, enhance customer service, and unlock new growth opportunities.
About the Client
An industry leader and popular choice for both domestic and international travel. This major airline operates in hundreds of airports across six continents. It is ranked among the top 20 largest airlines worldwide and employs people globally. In 2019, the airline flew over 50 million passengers, providing more than 1,500 flights daily to over 200 countries.
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The Challenge: Modernization & System Integration
However, the airline’s legacy Passenger Service System (PSS), built in the 1970s, was limiting its growth and customer experience. The PSS system consisted of two essential parts:
- Airline Reservation System: Customers and partners use this system to book flights and travel packages through websites and mobile apps.
- Departure Control System (DCS): This system handles flight-related tasks, including passenger check-in, baggage processing, boarding, flight tracking, in-flight services, connections, and more.
Like many legacy systems, the PSS lacked a modern user interface and struggled to meet current demands. Over the years, the company spent significant time and money to enhance its capabilities, such as adding seat selection, integrating website and mobile app features, and meeting regulatory requirements.
With each system update, more code and excessive user interfaces were added, resulting in increased complexity and usability issues. The DCS component of the PSS had significant difficulties in communicating about passenger baggage, flight connections, in-flight catering, and other related matters. Unlike the airline reservation system, which involves human interaction, DCS primarily relies on system-to-system interactions. Due to the system’s age, it lacked the ability to manage these interactions effectively and efficiently.
To attain preferred global status, they needed to modernize their systems and operations, allowing for greater flexibility and a more personalized travel experience. Additionally, they sought to enhance customer service across all points of interaction. They also needed to enhance their processes for selling, distributing, and delivering products and services to achieve a shorter time to market. This improvement would help them generate new revenue and differentiate their company, positioning it among the top ten leading airlines worldwide.
The Solution: Integrated Passenger Service
The company upgraded to Altea, a widely-used Passenger Service System (PSS). Given the numerous systems that needed to connect with Altea, the client assembled a team to implement an API-led integration approach. MuleSoft was selected as the preferred platform for this project, and Bits In Glass successfully completed the integration aspect of the upgrade, delivering two solutions:
1. Integrated the new Passenger Service System (PSS) with key applications
The Passenger Service System serves as the central hub for the airline, comprising over 80 different subsystems and 200 interconnected applications. At the start of the project, we needed to assess all systems to determine which ones were changing, being updated, or scheduled for decommissioning. Additionally, we collaborated with more than 25 partners to identify the 150+ system interfaces that needed to connect to Altea.
To decommission the legacy PSS system, we needed to transition all operations to the new Altea system. By utilizing MuleSoft, we enhanced the company’s agility and flexibility in its end-to-end processes through an API-led integration approach. This involved creating APIs in MuleSoft to pull and process data for Altea, ensuring that it not only matched but also improved upon the performance of the old system.
Previously, the airline operated with 10 separate user interfaces to manage the data needed by 10 different applications and systems. Now, this process is streamlined through a single, simple, and reusable API.
By adopting an API-led approach for its new Passenger Service System (PSS), the company can more effectively share data with both current and future applications, allowing for continued business growth.
Before implementing MuleSoft, the company had limited capabilities in its mobile app. Now, by using APIs, data has become more accessible, allowing for new functionalities such as making changes to flight reservations directly within the app. Ultimately, we developed over 80 APIs that are delivered across more than 160 different interfaces.
2. Updated the Departure Control System (DCS) with API-led Automation
Within DCS, there are many different systems and applications needed to manage tasks like baggage processing, transferring, flight weight tracking, passenger connections, in-flight catering, and more.
For example, one application is responsible for baggage processing, while another manages passenger connections. Both applications continuously exchanged data with the DCS, but still required employees to navigate through over 30 different screens to check and process all the information related to a flight.
For the transition to Altea, we needed to design APIs that would improve the way data was processed from all the different applications, ultimately making the process more streamlined for employees, reducing time and effort. Using MuleSoft APIs to manage the continuous exchange of data between systems and applications, we simplified operations within DCS.
Employees no longer have to navigate multiple screens and applications to process flight data, as the APIs have automated this workflow for them.
This simpler process ensures data being exchanged is processed efficiently and effectively every time. Plus, it gives the company the flexibility to leverage reusable APIs and add more capabilities for DCS to grow the business.
The Result: System-to-System Integration
Overall, the company has enhanced its system-to-system integration, enabling better collaboration with other airlines, travel agencies, and third-party partners. Client Benefits include:
COST SAVINGS: $100 Million Every Year
In modernizing its PSS, the company will see upwards of $100 million every year in future cost savings and new revenue.
IMPROVED EFFICIENCY: 2,000 Transactions per Second
Launching the new Altea Passenger Service System was the fastest, smoothest, and most successful technical go-live the company has had in its 80-year history. The new integration layer easily handles over 2,000 transactions per second more efficiently.
ENABLED GROWTH: New Revenue and Partners
The company can now expand into new markets, generate additional revenue, form new partnerships, and reduce its operating costs.
Conclusion
The $100 million annual savings achieved through this project are just one measure of the success of partnering with Bits In Glass. By creating a more agile, efficient, and collaborative system, Bits In Glass empowered this major airline to continue expanding globally while keeping operational costs in check.
If your organization is facing similar challenges, we’d love to connect and discuss your business challenges and see how we can tailor a solution to your organization.
Looking Forward: The Airline’s Path to Continued Success
By modernizing its Passenger Service System (PSS), the airline is now better prepared to face future challenges and seize new opportunities. This integration project has enabled the airline to optimize its operations, lower costs, and improve the travel experience for passengers. By investing in intelligent automation, the airline has addressed immediate operational issues while also establishing a foundation for continuous growth and innovation.
Learn more about Why Intelligent Automation Matters for the Airline Industry
