Continental Airlines

With 300+ aircraft operating an average of 1,800 domestic and international flights per day, this air carrier had a need for intensive operational management features that went beyond the “off the shelf” software tools they had tried. We supplied a comprehensive suite of products that integrated with their five mainframe systems and their Oracle-based operational database.

Our large-scale solution covered a variety of operational products, including:

• Operational Manager – this program was used to coordinate day-to-day activities. It allowed operations managers to not only gather and display large amounts of data in an intuitive format, but also provide decision support functionality to assist with dynamic disruptions (weather, air traffic congestion, mechanical issues, political unrest, etc.).
• Aircraft Router – connected to four of their mainframes, this program allowed them to route equipment ten days into the future with only two routing positions (rather than the six that were previously needed).
• Maintenance Planner – integrated into the mainframes, it provided a graphical tool for the carrier’s short- and long-term maintenance scheduling. As a result, recurring maintenance checks were being done at 80-90% of life cycle (versus an average of 50% before implementing our software).
• View-Only – a program used to coordinate daily operations and generate reports. For the first time in the carrier’s history, all staff could see specified data being shown in real time for improved communication.
• Aircraft Situation Display – the ASD program allowed dispatchers and operations managers to follow flights and better prevent diversions and cancellations.
• Gate Manager – this program was used by the carrier’s tower staff to manage flight placement at hub gates. It proved useful for connecting passengers, shuttle flights, and international connections.
• Ramp Control – this graphical tool was used to manage aircraft movement at hubs, and to better sequence ATC handoffs to ground and tower controls. This ensured high priority flights were able to receive the required level of preference from operations teams.

By combining these various solutions, we were able to help this air carrier streamline operations and reduce delays throughout their network.