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IT Solutions for a Small Airline
The Passenger Service System for airlines is a suite of critical information systems that will support the operations of airlines and comprised of seat reservations, seats inventory and in departure control. There are many PSS but most of them are still locked in expensive and inflexible mainframe computer platforms. Only the large carriers can afford these legacy-based PSS.
Bravo Passenger Solutions bought Mercator who developed Avantik, a PSS built on Microsoft PC servers. Avantik was built with the low cost carriers (LCC) in mind as the main market. Avantik has all of the three basic systems mentioned plus the following: yield and revenue management, weight and balance, electronic ticketing, revenue accounting, code-share, interlining, crew management, flight control and real-time reporting. ("Mercator”)
LCC’s can afford Avantik without losing major functionalities enjoyed by the big carriers. As proof, their customers so far are LSS: Peach, Vair, edelweiss, aurigny, Tassili, sky express, etc.
Another area of IT in airlines is In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC) and this is a significant aspect of the customer flight experience. Piksel created Piksel Voyage which allows passengers to download mobile gadget content while waiting for boarding. The content becomes available when the passenger becomes on board and is removed when he has left the plane. This is low-cost because the client hardware comes from the passengers with their mobile gadgets. (Jordan)
Influence of IT on Choice of Airline
Virgin Atlantic is highly adept in social media using Facebook and Twitter and that’s where I came across their unique and novel entertainment offer in flight. As a refreshing option to the standard audio-video entertainment, Virgin Atlantic offers live entertainment. I wanted to experience that which made me decide to use it in my next holiday trip. Virgin’s savvy internet marketing made that possible for me. (Ho)
Works Cited
Ho, Erica. "Virgin Atlantic Brings Live Comedy and Music to Flights in the United Kingdom". Time, 9 Aug. 09 2013. Web. 6 July 2016. <http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/08/09/virgin-atlantic-brings-live-comedy-and-music-to-flights-in-the-united-kingdom/>.
Jordan, Tarley. "Transavia Shakes Up In-Flight Entertainment with Piksel Voyage". piksel, 23 Jun. 2015. Web. 6 July 2016. <http://www.piksel.com/pressroom/transavia-shakes-flight-entertainment-piksel-voyage/>.
"Mercator unveils Avantik to world’s low cost carriers". international airport review, 29 Sep. 2010. Web. Web. 6 July 2016. <http://www.internationalairportreview.com/3369/airport-news/mercator-unveils-avantik-to-worlds-low-cost-carriers/>.
