Virgin Blue system upgrade

[WindowSeat]

On the long weekend I noticed that the Virgin Blue site wasn't processing check in etc. Arriving at the airport they were on manual mode. The check in assistant told me that they had just done a large system wide upgrade to their check-in back end (seemed like a totally new system rather than an update as she was getting taught how to use it).

Anyone know if the new system was just the check in engine or if it extends to the entire yield management etc system? Foreseeable benefits etc?

 

[gilby08]

On the long weekend I noticed that the Virgin Blue site wasn't processing check in etc. Arriving at the airport they were on manual mode. The check in assistant told me that they had just done a large system wide upgrade to their check-in back end (seemed like a totally new system rather than an update as she was getting taught how to use it).

Anyone know if the new system was just the check in engine or if it extends to the entire yield management etc system? Foreseeable benefits etc?

The system DJ are now using is 'newskies' by navitare.. Basically there are many back end system changes and upgrades and are now on par with Jetstar's systems. (JQ implemented this system as the 1st airline AFAIK, and basically did alot of problem shooting and solving and changes, and this was implemented nearly 1.5yrs ago..)
Don't think it will make much of a difference from a user-end perspective..

 

[markis10]

On the long weekend I noticed that the Virgin Blue site wasn't processing check in etc. Arriving at the airport they were on manual mode. The check in assistant told me that they had just done a large system wide upgrade to their check-in back end (seemed like a totally new system rather than an update as she was getting taught how to use it).

Anyone know if the new system was just the check in engine or if it extends to the entire yield management etc system? Foreseeable benefits etc?

Its a little bit more than a checkin system, to quote their release regarding the change: "Ultimately, over the coming months, benefits of the new system will include:
Improved Guest recognition capabilities, which will enable us to enhance the Guest experience.
The ability for Guests to more easily switch to earlier flights, if available, when they get to the airport earlier than originally planned. However, for Guests travelling with us during the 24-hour system migration period there will be some unavoidable changes to the usual level of service we provide. Rest assured we have a comprehensive program in place to minimise these impacts to our Guests."

Crazydave98 also added some detail in this post:

http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...economy-not-available-23202-2.html#post325082

 

[WindowSeat]

The answer is very likely "cost" but why wouldn't Jetstar have used the same system as QF? Seems crazy, even when just considering the data they could mine on people who use both airlines, save time manually matching QFF claims. There must have been a massive cost difference.

 

[markis10]

The answer is very likely "cost" but why wouldn't Jetstar have used the same system as QF? Seems crazy, even when just considering the data they could mine on people who use both airlines, save time manually matching QFF claims. There must have been a massive cost difference.

JQ dont use the same ground handling as QF do at their airports, so it makes no sense to share the same departure system, while their might be cost savings you have to remember JQ is not a 100% QF company in all places it operates, if they shared data then the other parties would guest access to premium customer details. It would also make it harder to dispose of either company if they had a lot of ties in terms of systems.

 

[WindowSeat]

Didn't think of the JV factor internationally, that makes sense, the data protection issue is far more important than any savings.

Thanks for the link to the other thread. There was a question about PE seating (and why it was unavailable). I would imagine because they were on manual processing making all bookings the one class for that weekend would have made the switchover a lot easier (one less thing to manually manage).

When I checked in on Monday morning the PE/Blue Zone seats were unavailable even to the check in assistant (although they could manually put pax in those seats they couldn't access those "fare types").