'Building and Managing Systems Essay\r'

'JetBlue and WestJet: A Tale of two IS Projects The time had come for both(prenominal) JetBlue and WestJet to upgrade their reticence governing bodys. Each carrier had started fall out apply a formation designed for littler start-up respiratory tracts, and both postulate to a greater exdecadet processing power to deal with a far greater volume of nodes. They overly needful features like the ability to link prices and seat inventories to early(a) air passages with whom they co lock upd. Both JetBlue and WestJet contracted with cavalry sword Holdings, one of the closely widely used airline IT bring home the baconrs, to upgrade their airline reservation systems,\r\nThe difference between WestJet and JetBlue’s instruction execution of cut’s SabreSonic CSS reservation system illustrates the dangers entire in any large-scale IT overhaul. It also serves as yet an new(prenominal) reminder of how successfully prep for and implementing new technology is just as valuable as the technology itself. Sabre’s newest system, SabreSonic CSS, performs a broad array of services for any airline. It sells seats, collects payments, allows customers to cheat on for flights on the airline’s Web site, and provides an port wine for communication with reservation agents. Customers can use it to irritate aerodrome kiosks, select specific seats, check their bags, board, rebook, and give refunds for flight cancellations. All of the data generated by these proceedings are stored centrally within the system. JetBlue selected SabreSonic CSS over its bequest system developed by Sabre tinct Navitaire, and WestJet was upgrading from an older Sabre reservation system of its own. The number one of the two airlines to implement SabreSonic CSS was WestJet. When WestJet went live with the new system in October 2009, customers struggled to place reservations, and the WestJet Web site crashed restately.\r\nWestJet’s call spirits were als o overwhelmed, and customers experienced slowdowns at airports. For a company that built its business on the long suit of good customer service, this was a nightmare. How did WestJet allow this to reach? The critical issue was the hit of WestJet’s 840,000 files containing data on transactions for past WestJet customers who had already purchased flights, from WestJet’s old reservation system servers in Calgary to Sabre servers in Oklahoma. The migration required WestJet agents to go through compound steps to process the data. WestJet had not anticipated the transfer time required to move the files and failed to reduce its rider loads on flights operating immediately after(prenominal) the changeover. Hundreds of thousands of bookings for future flights that were made before the changeover were Essentials of precaution selective information Systems, tenth Edition, by Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon. Published by Prentice Hall. copyright © 2013 by Pearson E ducation, Inc. ISBN 1-269-41688-X In new-fangled years, the airline industry has seen several low-cost, high-efficiency carriers rise to excrescence using a recipe of extremely free-enterprise(a) fares and outstanding customer service.\r\nTwo examples of this business present in action are JetBlue and WestJet. Both companies were founded within the past two decades and have quickly enceinte into industry powerhouses. But when these companies need to make sweeping IT upgrades, their relationships with customers and their brands can be tarnished if things go awry. In 2009, both airlines upgraded their airline reservation systems, and one of the two intentional this lesson the hard way. JetBlue was incorporated in 1998 and founded in 1999 by David Neeleman. The company is headquartered in Queens, New York and flies to 63 destinations in 21 states and eleven countries in the Caribbean, sulphur America and Latin America. JetBlue’s goal has been to provide low-cost travel along with unique comforts like TV in every seat, and its ponderous reliance on information technology throughout the business was a critical factor in achieving that goal. JetBlue met with early success and continued to grow at a speedy pace, consistently ranking at the top of customer satisfaction surveys for U. S. airlines. Headquartered in Calgary, Canada, WestJet was founded by a group of airline industry veterans in 1996, including Neeleman, who left to start JetBlue shortly\r\nthereafter. The company began with about 40 employees and three aircraft. Today, the company has 7,800 employees and operates 420 flights per day to 71 destinations in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and Mexico. Earlier in this decade, WestJet belowwent rapid expansion spurred by its early success and began chalk uping more Canadian destinations and then U. S. cities for its flights. By 2010, WestJet held nearly 40 percent of the Canadian airline market, with Air Canada displace to 55 pe rcent. JetBlue is slightly bigger, with 167 aircraft in use compared to WestJet’s 88, but both have used the resembling low-cost, good-service formula that brought profitability in the notoriously treacherous airline marketplace. The rapid growth of each airline rendered their existing information systems obsolete, including their airline reservation systems. Upgrading reservations systems carries supererogatory risks. From a customer perspective, only one of two things can happen: Either the airline successfully completes its overhaul and the customer notices no difference in the ability to book flights, or the implementation is botched, angering customers and alter the airline’s brand.\r\nChapter 11: Building Information Systems and Managing Projects handle these problems. JetBlue cease up using its attendant site several times. JetBlue had the advantage of seeing WestJet attempt its implementation months before, so it was able to avoid legion(predicate) of t he pitfalls that WestJet endured. But JetBlue had also experienced similar customer service debacles in the past. In February 2007, JetBlue tried to operate flights during a blizzard when all other major airlines had already canceled their flights. This turned out to be a poor decision, as the weather conditions prevented the flights from taking mangle and passengers were stranded for as long as ten hours. JetBlue had to continue canceling flights for days afterwards, reaching a join of 1,100 flights canceled and a loss of $30 million. JetBlue management complete in the wake of the crisis that the airline’s IT infrastructure, although commensurate to deal with normal day-to-day conditions, was not big-chested enough to handle a crisis of this magnitude. This experience, coupled with the notification of WestJet’s struggles when implementing its new system, motivated JetBlue’s unadventurous approach to its own IT implementation.\r\nSabre had to adjust the f lights using the new system. This delay provoked a alluvium of customer dissatisfaction, a rarity for WestJet. In amplification to the increase in customer complaint calls, customers also took to the Internet to express their displeasure. Angry flyers expressed transport on Facebook and flooded WestJet’s site, causing the repeated crashes. WestJet quickly get rid ofered an apology to customers on its site erst it came back up, explaining why the errors had occurred. WestJet employees had trained with the new system for acombined 150,000 hours prior to the upgrade, but WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer explained that the company â€Å"encounter(ed) some problems in the live environment that simply did not get on in the test environment,” foremost among them the issues surrounding the wide file transfer. WestJet’s latest earnings reports examine that the company weathered the storm successfully, remained profitable, and ranks just at a lower place JetBlue a nd Southwest in airline customer satisfaction. Neverthless, the nonessential forced the airline to slow down its rollout of a frequent flyer program, as well as code-sharing planswith other airlines, such as American Airlines and mainland China Pacific. These plans allow one airline to sell flights under its own name on aircraft operated by other airlines. In contrast, JetBlue learned from WestJet’s mistakes, and built a backup Web site to prepare for the belabor case scenario. The company also hired vitamin D temporary call center workers to manage probable spikes in customer service calls. WestJet also ended up hiring temporary offshore call center workers, but only after the problem had gotten out of hand. JetBlue made sure to switch its files over to Sabre’s servers on a Friday night, because\r\nSaturday flight work is typically very low. JetBlue also sold smaller numbers of seats on the flights that did take off that day. JetBlue experienced a few glitchesâ⠂¬call have a bun in the oven times increased and not all airport kiosks and ticket printers came online right away. In addition, JetBlue needs to add some booking functions. But compared to what WestJet endured, the company was extremely well prepared to 403 Essentials of Management Information Systems, Tenth Edition, by Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright © 2013 by Pearson Education, Inc.\r\n'