COMAIR and Business Information Systems

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In the 20th century, mankind experienced unprecedented growth in the business world because of the advent of computers. When computers were further enhanced by software, it seemed that the sky was the limit when it comes to developing creative solutions to solving problems as well as streamlining operations – resulting in reduced operating cost while at the same time improving the company’s bottom line.

For many, it is not enough to simply use computer hardware and software. The next step is to develop a business information system able to consolidate relevant information that in turn can be used by management to make crucial and timely decisions.

The need to upgrade a business information system is due to pressure from competitors. In a highly competitive world of airline carriers, it is imperative for a company to distance itself from its rivals, and one of the best ways to do this is to increase efficiency by improving communication and monitoring. Aside from the need to have a competitive advantage, upgrading of the business information systems is vitally important since computer hardware requires regular replacement due to wear and tear. This is not only a wise management practice, but this will ensure that a company will be able to handle increased growth.

COMAIR was a successful airline carrier in the latter part of the 20th century, but because it was unable to make timely upgrades in its business information system, COMAIR suffered a public relations nightmare and lost $20 million when its Crew Scheduling System crashed on December 25, 2004.

Discuss Comair’s information systems and information technology strategy and whether it supports their business strategy

At first COMAIR was content to use ink and paper to manage their business. But due to tougher regulations, they were forced to adhere to new rules and decided to use a business information system that they leased from SBS International. This system comprised of software (SBS) which was written in a computer language called Fortran and then run on an IBM AIX version of the UNIX operating system.

This software is COMAIR’s first attempt to use a Crew Scheduling System. The SBS provided COMAIR the ability to track flight crews, which flights the crews were assigned to, and how many hours they were flying (Laudon & Laudon, 2007). The use of this software application enabled them to experience efficient management of their resources and so COMAIR was able to experience early success.

The only problem is that they were content in using the same business information system for the past 18 years. The computer language used to create the SBS legacy software became popular in the 1950s, and since then, there are other computer languages that came out that are much better, at least in the point of view of many computer programmers (Leondes, 2005). In the case of Fortran and the SBS legacy system, the problem is not only about the capability of the computer language but also the fact that there are no in-house expertise in the said computer language. This means that if COMAIR experienced problems or would like to improve its business information system, they would need to hire an outsider. Since it is already an antiquated system, finding help would be a timely and costly process.

It was therefore the correct thing to do when management decided to upgrade in anticipation of future growth. But there is one problem. The company business information system was not the top priority for COMAIR. The corporate leaders seemed to believe that there are other ways to increase their productivity and beat the competition. This is the reason why after a long time of using SBS legacy, they did not seek to improve it and poured their resources in purchasing Bombardier planes. There is no problem in upgrading their airplanes since that is their core business, but in the 21st century, it is imperative to look into an outdated business information system before it will be too late.

COMAIR made tentative improvements to its IT infrastructure. There were many reasons why progress was slow in this area. But when they finally decided that it was time to upgrade their current business information system they were reluctant at best and at worst unbelievers when it comes to the power of new technologies. The prevailing mindset was that if something is not broken then why fix it? This kind of business practice is no longer applicable in the Information Age. As a result, it took 11 years of continued use before COMAIR decided that it was time for an upgrade. But the enthusiasm to improve its business information system was no match for the criticism of a single flight supervisor who had plenty of negative things to say about the Maestro, SBS’ new product.

In 1999 instead of replacing the whole system, COMAIR decided to make minor changes. One of which is to program SBS legacy systems to make it Y2K compliant to recognize century changes in dates (Laudon & Laudon, 2007). Instead of replacing the outdated business information system, COMAIR added more features such as the e-ticketing system and a revenue management application (Laudon & Laudon, 2007). This goes to show that COMAIR is much more dedicated to marketing and sales and not in strengthening its business information system.

From your own knowledge of systems theory and systems development practice, explain how Comair should develop its new system

It was made clear that COMAIR was reluctant in strengthening its business information system. The focus was in increasing and managing revenue. This was seen in the incorporation of an e-ticketing software as well as the application that manages revenue. In order for COMAIR to develop a new business information system, it must demonstrate its commitment to its IT infrastructure. A half-hearted approach will not work. There will be many problems and many challenges that will come along that can easily distract them from completing their IT projects.

In the case of COMAIR, it was unable to predict some of the consequences of being acquired by DELTA. The giant airline carrier became a subsidiary of DELTA, and it is easy to understand that DELTA will do everything in its power to increase revenue – for this is the main reason why they acquired COMAIR in the first place. It must be pointed out also that before DELTA decided to get COMAIR the said company was a recognized leader and award-winning regional carrier. There was no reason to suspect that underneath the façade, the business information system that is holding it together was powered by Fortran, a language that is unfamiliar to many computer experts in the 21st century.

The legacy system that was leased from SBS is not only outdated but it is also very expensive to maintain. According to experts, the legacy system is cumbersome and slow (Doganis, ) But that is only half the problem because it requires its own staff to maintain (Doganis, ***). If COMAIR will use a modern system, then they will no longer have to hire a group of specialists that are paid to focus on the legacy and do nothing else but to keep it running. There are many companies offering new IT solutions that require minimal effort to manage and are supported by a team of programmers and specialists that are off-site, and therefore, COMAIR will only have to require their assistance a few times a year. This is a much better deal as compared to paying for full-time Fortran programmers.

When the commitment to improve its IT infrastructure is secured, then the next step in the process is to determine the weaknesses in the said system and begin working to remedy the problem. In the case of COMAIR, what is required is a major overhaul, specifically, to remove SBS legacy and replace it with a newer model. The next step is to determine the exact needs of the company. COMAIR requires a new Crew Scheduling System on top of an e-ticketing system as well as the application that manages revenue.

It is vitally important for COMAIR to push through with its plans to use e-ticketing systems. There is no other option but to proceed with this plan. It is no longer a luxury to procure this type of IT solutions. After the September 11 attacks, the airline industry had to find ways to stay afloat in times of crisis. The use of an e-ticketing system is one of the best solutions when it comes to reducing the burden of hiring so many employees and yet unable to achieve efficiency. An e-ticketing system make it possible for a better customer and company relations without having to spend so much in developing human resources.

Since many Americans are now computer literate, it is therefore imperative to go ahead with this kind of computer and human interaction. Aside from the economic slowdown, there is also the threat of low-cost carriers that can easily offer low fares due to their ability to cut costs and their primary weapon is the use of an e-ticketing system. Thus, there is no longer any reason to reject this type of technology. The problem with COMAIR is that it tried to grow its IT infrastructure by increasing revenue without investing in computer technology-focused in handling operations.

Therefore, COMAIR was successful in generating sales but was in dangerous territory when it comes to their operations. COMAIR was flirting with disaster by having in its core an outdated business information system responsible for managing their flight crews as well as their airplanes. They should anticipate, that barring any major blunder, their customers will continue to be loyal to their brand, and they should expect that their growth will continue because of their previous record of success. But as one study was able to show, “… a company can grow steadily even when some of its critical processes are flawed” (Laudon & Laudon, 2007).

The key term there is “critical processes” and COMAIR must make a commitment to improve this area of their IT infrastructure. Business leaders must be convinced and must be educated with regards to the risks of neglecting this vital aspect of their business operations. In this regard COMAIR’s leadership must be decisive and must not allow circumstances to dictate their actions. Just like any other organization, there is a temptation to put off some of their key decisions until everything is settled. But it is already a fact that a company’s IT infrastructure is a major component of the organization’s business.

Without it, there will be no customers and there will be no revenue. In highly industrialized countries like the United States, consumers find it convenient to do online shopping, and when it comes to air travel, there is no better way than to make their reservations online as well as purchasing their tickets for their upcoming trip.

Being decisive means making decisions quickly. It is understandable that the CEO and key leaders of the organization must take their time in deciding matters relating to Information Technology. After all computer hardware and computer applications are very expensive to procure. Still, there is no excuse when decision-making bogs down. In the case of COMAIR, it took five months of planning to make a decision that they need to upgrade their system. Five months just to agree on the basic framework; that amount of time must be used in discussing details, not an overview of a general plan to tackle their needs. It is obvious that COMAIR was confident that their system can carry them to the next century. They were wrong in that assumption.

The next thing to do is not to simply look for the lowest bidder. They must assess their needs, and this can be done by consulting with the people on the ground, their flight crews, and all the employees that will be affected by the shift in technology. There must be a thorough understanding of how the SBS legacy system works and then to figure out how to move from that level to the next. The changes required may affect the routine behavior of many employees and their flight crews, and therefore there is a need to take note of the required changes in behavior as well as the need to learn a new set of skills.

The next step is to conduct consultations with their people. In 1996 COMAIR wasted their time in bringing in SBS’ Maestro only to find out that a flight crew supervisor was not in favor of adopting this system. There are two things that one can learn from this experience. First, there is a need to consult those who will be seriously affected by change, and secondly, there is a need to find out how the company can convince their employees to put up the necessary effort to learn the new system. In the case of COMAIR and the dissenting flight supervisor the Maestro may have been a perfect fit except for one grumbling employee. If COMAIR could decides to adopt this new system knowing that it will benefit a greater number of employees, then it must anticipate these problems.

As mentioned earlier, COMAIR must not simply go for the lowest bidder. The most important thing to consider is the cost of upkeep. A system may be cheaper at first but then would require expensive maintenance. A good IT solution is one that only requires off-site maintenance, meaning the company that sold them the business information system need not send a team of specialist to COMAIR to fix the problem.

It would be better if there are diagnostic systems that can repair the system off-site with minimal input from an engineer or a computer programmer. This is a highly sophisticated system that is very easy to use and maintain. It may be expensive at first but in the long run, it will reduce the cost of operations as well lessen the workload of COMAIR’s staff.

There is need to emphasize that COMAIR’s business information system must be integrated for ease of use and maintenance. Based on the study, it seems that COMAIR created a monster with three heads. A business information system that has a) a Crew Scheduling System that uses Fortran; b) a modern software that handles e-ticketing; and c) a modern software that handles revenue management.

In the 21st century, this kind of an IT infrastructure makes no sense. As pointed out earlier, this kind of approach will require at least two or three groups of people working to maintain three different software. Streamlining their operations require integration, and it would be easier to manage, and at the same time, it would be easier to spot problems. Since everything is interrelated in this time and age, it is indeed logical to have an integrated system.

What people, organization, and technology issues does Comair have to consider if it chooses to build a new system

COMAIR’s major problem is the way their corporate leaders view their IT needs. COMAIR started as a small player in the regional carrier industry. It started with a few propeller powered planes and then managed to grow it into 25 units. Even so, these 20 or so planes were managed using the traditional method of paper and pen. The corporate leaders at COMAIR was content to grow their business using this kind of management system if not forced by the FAA to change their ways. They adopted a new system called SBS legacy, and there is evidence to believe that they are content to comply with the basic requirements and there was no intention to go to the next level when it comes to ensuring that they will not experience a major glitch.

In Christmas of 2004, their outdated system was pushed to its limits, and they found out too late that their Fortran powered Crew Scheduling System could not handle more than 32, 768 changes. In today’s standards the 32, 000 limit is ludicrous knowing that supercomputers and highly efficient IT solutions are already available in the market. This just goes to show how COMAIR did not consider the risk of using an 18 year old software. Their leaders’ mindset must change and they must embrace new technologies that can help them improve their business information system.

Their leaders must make it their priority to improve their IT infrastructure. It was understandable why they did not focus on this aspect of their business. Their partnership with DELTA and then later on how DELTA managed to fully acquire the regional carrier placed tremendous pressure to perform, and it means only one thing, a significant increase in revenue. The leaders must realize that COMAIR was successful in part because they were small, easy to manage and easy to maintain. But when the marketing juggernaut of DELTA was placed at their disposal, their customer base increased beyond their capacity. They did not even foresee the future that their outdated system can be pushed to the limit.

There is also the pressure of cutting costs in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. But a mindset geared towards safety and efficiency will force them to upgrade rather than to gamble on an old system. The continued use of SBS legacy was just one way of reducing cost, but at the end, they paid a terrible price for it. $20 million in losses should have been turned to profit if only they made key improvements in their IT infrastructure.

Moreover, COMAIR should include their employees and their flight crews in the planning process. After all it is not only the CEO who will use the said business information system. It is their flight supervisors, flight crews, and employees who will be in frequent contact with computers, and their input must be considered in building an integrated system that is easy to use, maintain, and at the same time able to generate more revenue for the company.

References

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COMAIR and Business Information Systems

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