M2P Consulting’s Post

Successful airline disruption management is more than a powerful tool - besides M2P's world-class disruption solver ORBIT, our structured approach is key to reduce irregularities and cut disruption cost.

Navigating the Complexities - Airline Disruption Management [Part 2] In our previous post, we took a first look at the fundamentals of airline disruption management. Now, let's dive deeper into the different recovery use cases, key factors affecting airline schedules, and the staggering costs of disruptions in the global aviation industry. Airline disruptions can take many forms, each requiring a tailored approach. Irregular events are one of the most severe challenges airlines face in their operations. From weather events to air traffic control restrictions and crew availability, there’s an intricate web of variables that play a crucial role in the airline's ability to respond effectively. And the financial impact is substantial: disruptions cost airlines €25 billion annually. It's crucial that airlines implement proactive disruption management strategies now to mitigate these costs and improve customer satisfaction. Any measure leading to recovery or avoidance of disruption will have a positive impact on operational costs as well as on customer satisfaction. To address these issues, we have built Orbit: our new proactive disruption management solution, designed to streamline operations and enhance efficiency through automation. Discover more in our whitepaper on proactive solutions for Airline Disruption Management and learn how Orbit can help your organization weather any storm and keep your passengers moving. 💪 🛫 (link in the comments) #AirlineDisruption #OperationsManagement #Aviation

Navigating Turbulence: The Critical Role of Leading Indicators in KPIs "🛫🔧 In light of the recent unsettling incidents in air travel - a nose wheel falling off prior to takeoff, loose bolts noticed by passengers prior to take-off, and a window blowing out mid-flight - we are starkly reminded of the importance of leading indicators in our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These incidents, while thankfully not catastrophic, are harbingers that point to potential underlying issues in maintenance procedures, training, or competency within the airline industry. They serve as crucial leading indicators – early warning signs that, if heeded, can prevent disasters. 1. Predictive Power of Leading Indicators: Leading indicators are proactive measures, giving us a glimpse into future trends or events. They are predictive, helping organizations identify and rectify issues before they escalate into significant problems. In the case of the airline industry, regular and thorough maintenance checks, staff training audits, and safety protocol compliance rates are leading indicators that can predict and prevent potential failures. 2. Proactive vs. Reactive: Relying solely on lagging indicators, such as the number of accidents or incidents, is a reactive approach. It focuses on outcomes after they have occurred. Leading indicators, however, empower us to be proactive. They allow us to take corrective actions in advance, enhancing safety and performance. 3. Building a Culture of Prevention: Incorporating leading indicators in KPIs fosters a culture of prevention rather than cure. It's about creating an environment where safety and excellence are not just goals but integral parts of the operational process. This approach not only safeguards against risks but also builds customer trust and enhances brand reputation. 4. Continuous Improvement: Leading indicators facilitate continuous improvement. They provide ongoing feedback, enabling organizations to refine processes, enhance training, and improve quality control. This iterative process is vital in industries where precision and safety are paramount. The recent air travel incidents are a call to action for all industries to reevaluate their KPIs. It's time to ask ourselves: Are we monitoring the right indicators? Are our KPIs aligned with not just our business goals but also with our safety and quality standards? If you must use air travel, you don’t want to be asking yourself – Do I feel lucky today? Although less dire, the same question applies to our businesses. Let’s use this opportunity to reflect and act. Share your thoughts on how leading indicators have shaped your organization's approach to risk management and continuous improvement. #LeadingIndicators #KPIs #RiskManagement"

Navigating Airline Disruptions with a Structured Approach [Part 4] In the latest part of our series on airline disruption management, we take a look into four of the biggest challenges in the process to solve disruption today. What are the risks and how can you manage them? Keep reading to find out! 🤝 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Currently, many airlines manage disruptions manually by coordinating with various stakeholders. This creates avoidable delays and errors from the time the disruption occurs until the airline returns to its original flight plan. ❓ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 For many airlines, decision making during the disruption event is distributed across multiple functions in the OCC rather than being centralised with an operational controller. The challenge is to effectively coordinate this distributed decision making and optimise it from a distributed decision making to an integrated one. 💡 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 A significant challenge is to develop solutions that take into account not only aircraft, but also crew, passengers, fuel and many other parameters to solve disruption. This reflects the reality of operational practice, but places ever greater demands on modelling as a mathematical optimisation problem and thus also on the calculation, the more detailed and comprehensive the various parameters are included. 🔍 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 The earlier a disruption is recognised, the earlier it can be responded to and the smaller the impact on flight operations and passengers. The challenge is to develop mechanisms that recognise disruptions as early as possible and enable airlines to react quickly and appropriately. For a more detailed view, read our latest whitepaper on proactive solutions for airline disruption management and discover how Orbit can help streamline your operations (link in the comments). #AirlineDisruption #AviationInsights #OperationsManagement

🚨 Global Aviation Grounding: A Lesson in IT Risk Management 🚨 Your airfreight shipments are at risk!!! Right now, the aviation industry faces an unprecedented crisis with a critical IT system malfunctioned, leading to a global grounding of airplanes. The root cause? A seemingly small driver issue in a widely used system. The Problem: A minor driver malfunction caused major disruptions. Every installation now requires a manual update, which will take considerable time to implement globally. The Oversight: In the pursuit of convenience and speed, redundancy was overlooked. This decision has highlighted a significant flaw in risk management practices. Key Takeaways: Redundancy Matters: While efficiency is crucial, it should never come at the cost of reliability. Implementing robust backup systems is essential. Risk Management: Proactive risk assessment and mitigation strategies are vital in IT system design and implementation. Manual Interventions: Automating updates and having scalable solutions can prevent such widespread issues in the future. Moving Forward: As we work through the painstaking process of updating each installation manually, it's a stark reminder of the importance of balancing convenience with comprehensive risk management. This incident is a critical learning opportunity for IT professionals across all sectors. Let's use this experience to reinforce the value of thorough planning and robust system design. The safety and reliability of our global infrastructure depend on it. https://lnkd.in/efb_MZ8v #IT #RiskManagement #Aviation #Technology #SystemUpdate #Redundancy #CrisisManagement #LessonsLearned #supplychain #logistics #risk #procurement

Was Manchester Airport’s Latest Crisis Avoidable? The key to solving this issue lies in understanding the Strategic Recovery Objectives (SROs) of Manchester airport. Darkskope has helped numerous International Airports build and manage a world class crisis management and business continuity capability, so we base our opinion here on over 20 years experience. The majority of airports we work with adopted the following SROs: 1. Passage of passengers through the airport 2. Passage of baggage through the airport Seems straightforward, right? Well, its far from it when you take into account the myriad of functions an airport delivers through passenger services, airline services, terminal facilities, ground operations (landside & airside), security services and airport services. Taking the 2 SROs above, its then critical to identify the following: 1. What are the Recovery Time Objectives for each? 1hr? 2hrs? 1 day? How long before each needs to be functioning normally again? 2. What is the Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption for Manchester Airport? In other words, how long before the failure to deliver the SROs becomes terminal to the operations and reputation of the airport? Next step is to identify the “Critical Activities that Deliver ONLY the 2 SROs above”. Each critical activity is a combination of: People Premises & Infrastructure Information Technology Supply Chain Stakeholders Once the supporting resources for each critical activity has been identified, you have identified mission critical data on what’s actually critical and what needs to be protected at all costs. Remember, NOT everything is critical. Now link the Recovery Time Objectives to each activity and associated resources - in the case of Manchester Aiirport, did they know the critical infrastructure for keeping the airport functional for passage of passengers and their baggage through the airport? This can then be further linked (and tested) to interdependencies in their supply chain - if the SRO is 1hr, then does that timeframe marry up with the response time of their electricity maintenance company? Was this tested? Was the fact it was a Sunday screw timeframes up further? Having experience of working with large international airports to build world class resilience, and knowing through their feedback that it WORKS, it is feasible that such an event as Manchester Airport experienced yesterday is both predictable and manageable. What happens when the above process is not followed? Pretty simple…. - Chaos ensues - The Airport MD will get paraded to recite some “sympathy, praise, promise” nonsense that quite frankly no one cares about - The organisation looks incompetent on a national (potentially global) stage - Public and shareholders lose confidence - It loses £millions in lost revenue and fines. https://lnkd.in/dSfghftw

The beginning of 2024 saw massive airline service interruptions due to weather☔ and technical problems. On January 15, more than 3,300 flights were cancelled due to winter storms ⛈️, the highest number of cancellations since the Southwest system meltdown in 2022 according to FlightAware data. In 2023, DOT reported over 1.2M flights were delayed, the highest number in a decade, and over 85,000 flights were cancelled in the United States ✈️. Globally, schedule disruptions remain 300% above historical norms according to Infare (link to data in comments). The impact of these cancellations and delays on operations can be significant, a schedule change can take 15-30 ⏰ mins to resolve manually, cancellations significantly more. Tracking unused tickets is another operational headache, companies can easily lose 5-10% of their total air travel spend to unused tickets if not managed correctly. And NDC has only magnified the challenges. That’s the bad news, the good news is 80% of unused tickets can be recovered through proper management 🙌. The even better news is Cornerstone has the solutions to tackle both schedule changes and unused tickets with our Schedule Change Manager https://lnkd.in/gpfF6-4Y and TicketTRAK https://lnkd.in/gafAg737 solutions, the industry leading and award-winning 🏆 business operation and automation tools. 

From Scramble to Soar Again: An Airline's Journey from Emergency Response to Recovery The airline industry thrives on planned schedules and smooth operations. Yet, robust systems can be tested by emergencies. An airline's true character is revealed in its ability to transition from reactive response to proactive recovery. This article explores critical steps airlines take to navigate emergencies and emerge stronger. The Maelstrom of Response: The initial response to an emergency focuses on damage control. Airlines activate contingency plans, ensuring safety and clear communication. Depending on the crisis, this may involve rerouting flights, arranging accommodation, and providing support services. Building Bridges of Recovery: After the crisis, airlines work to get flights back on schedule, minimize inconvenience, and restore confidence. This involves rebooking passengers, enhanced communication, customer service focus, and investigating the cause to prevent future occurrences. Regaining Trust and Taking Flight Again: Recovery isn't linear. Airlines may face reputational damage and a decline in bookings. To rebuild trust, a multi-pronged approach is needed, including public relations campaigns, investing in safety and infrastructure, and regaining public confidence through incentives and loyalty programs. A Journey, Not a Destination: Prioritizing safety, communication, and customer service during response and recovery can help airlines emerge stronger. By learning from the experience and adapting practices, airlines can build a foundation for a more resilient and trusted future.

Workforce planning is a global issue for Airline Industry. An insight into how we can solve this using Strategic Scenario Planning. #SpauldingRidge #ScenarioPlanning #WorkforcePlanning Arun Aggarwal Greg G. Kishore Mukkamala

Struggling with aviation expenses? Here are 3 effective strategies to take control of your airline spend! ✈️ #1 - Strategic Cost Planning ▪️ Conducting thorough assessments to understand cost structures and identify areas for potential savings. ▪️ Setting strategic goals for cost management, aligned with the overall business strategy. #2 - Operational Efficiency ▪️ Improving operational processes to reduce waste and increase efficiency. ▪️ Utilizing data and analytics to optimize flight schedules, maintenance routines, and other operational activities. #3 - Continuous Improvement ▪️ Implementing a culture of continuous improvement where cost management practices are regularly reviewed and enhanced. ▪️ Encouraging innovation and flexibility to adapt to new challenges and opportunities in the industry. Find out more with our Managing Airline Expenses: Infrastructure & ANSP Charges course, and understand how aviation infrastructure charges will allow you to devise strategies for controlling the related costs. ➡️ https://shorturl.at/8DuLE #Aeroclass #AviationManagement #AirlineIndustry #FinancialStrategy