Streamlining Operations for a World-Leading Airline
Category
Project Length
4 months
Deliverables
UX/UI, Frontend, Backend, Architect, Infrastructure, QA
Apexive developed a cutting-edge Airline Concierge System for one of the world's largest airline carriers. The system automates hotel and taxi management for the airline's crew members. It's integrated with the airline's rostering system and includes features like live flight change detection, automatic alerts and notifications, and reporting and analytics. This white-label solution can be adapted to meet the needs of any airline carrier.
Challenge
A world-leading airline carrier was losing thousands of hours to manual crew booking management.
Their staff spent each day updating spreadsheets and coordinating with hotels and taxi services. When flights changed—a daily occurrence in aviation—the team scrambled to modify bookings and negotiate new arrangements.
The airline needed a system that could automate these processes and adapt to real-time changes.
Development Process
Tech stack:
- Python/Django
- AWS/Google Cloud
- SQL/NoSQL
- Terraform
- Kubernetes
Why this tech stack? It's robust, scalable, and lets us build software lightning fast – all of which follow our Development Principles.
Product Discovery Phase
We began with a thorough product discovery process. We always take this phase seriously — it aligns with our DRY principles. By getting the details right from the start, we avoid wasting time and resources later on.
Our Founder & CTO and project manager held a series of discovery interviews with the airline's C-Suite team to truly understand their needs inside-out.
We uncovered specific "User Stories" from different user types, including crew control, admin staff, and hotel and taxi company representatives. Each group had unique requirements and challenges to address. These insights offered a clear roadmap for the airline concierge system.
Architecture, Design, Develop & Deploy, and Maintenance
Architecture
Our CTO led the team to work on the architectural and infrastructure bootstrapping. We used the combination of Terraform and Kubernetes. Terraform automates the infrastructure setup across different cloud platforms, while Kubernetes manages the containerized application components. This approach creates a strong, scalable infrastructure — like having a blueprint for the entire system that can be easily managed and replicated.
Design
We designed an intuitive dashboard, giving users a clear overview of the most important crew insights. We kept the design clean and optimized for efficiency.
Development & Deploy:
Our team handled the full dev process from start to finish, including database management. Data integrity and security were top priorities, so industry-leading encryption and security measures were implemented to keep sensitive information protected. We conducted regular performance optimization checks throughout and deployed the system once development was complete.
Maintenance
Our work doesn't stop at deployment. We continue to monitor the platform's performance post-launch, making any necessary adjustments or updates to keep things running at peak efficiency.
Solution
We took an unorthodox approach and came to the airline carrier with a solution. Why? Our founder and CTO spent years as a pilot, a pilot instructor, and even served as a captain for a top airline. When we heard about their challenges, we knew we had the industry expertise to help.
We presented a fully customizable solution: the airline concierge system. The proposed scope and timeline initially surprised our client – it seemed impossibly quick. But we made it happen.
Here's how the system works:
- The concierge system automatically receives data from the airline's rostering system through an API and sends hotel or taxi booking requests on schedule.
- It can integrate with any rostering system, whether the airline uses RAIDO, AIMS, or something else.
- It detects and handles any flight updates or cancellations as needed.
- A notification function sends email alerts if the hotel or taxi company hasn't responded to change requests.
This carrier now has a smooth, streamlined way to manage their crew member's hotel and taxi bookings. A user-friendly Dashboard presents everything, allowing them to view, approve, or make manual changes as needed.
The airline concierge system stands out for its adaptability. It can be tailored to meet any airline's unique needs, so they get maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
High Level Features
Automated
Concierge System Streamlines hotel and taxi bookings specifically for flight crew control, eliminating manual processes and saving valuable time.
Seamless
Integration Integrates with your existing airline rostering system, allowing you to manage crew bookings without learning a new platform.
Comprehensive
Booking Support Handles monthly forecasts, weekly plans, daily bookings, and last-minute modifications for both hotel rooms and taxi services.
Change
Detection Automatically monitors updates or cancellations in your airline rostering system, creating change requests to ensure all bookings are up-to-date (even if there are last-minute flight changes or emergencies).
Alerts &
Notifications Keeps you informed with timely email alerts if a hotel or taxi company hasn't responded to a request, and the check-in or pickup time is approaching.
Reporting &
Analytics Provides customizable reports and dashboards to track booking trends, monitor confirmations and cancellations, and gain valuable insights into your operations.
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