JetBlue Airways will be the first North American airline to use the next generation platform.
SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS – JetBlue Airways will introduce Sabre's comprehensive crew management system that offers a range of crew scheduling, management, services and analytical capabilities. This new platform from Sabre Corporation, leading technology provider to the global travel industry, helps solve one of an airline's biggest challenges – crew tracking and management – while also giving airline crew employees a more efficient way of interacting with the airline both on and off duty.
A fleet of hundreds of aircraft is manned by thousands of crew members – both flight deck and cabin crew. Each Crewmember has a unique schedule and preferences, so the sheer complexity and scale of the schedule that is developed, and then managed, makes this space ripe for technology innovation. Add in the dynamic operating environment with weather disruptions, schedule changes, rules, training, duty hours, vacation time, sick crew and reserve planning, this makes managing a crew schedule even more complex.
Additionally, the crew controller has a particularly challenging job creating and managing crew schedules, as they must constantly assimilate disparate information from many sources. Sabre Crew Manager offers a user-friendly interface that will allow controllers to manage by exception, while using real-time data to make decisions. This drastically reduces a controller's effort and helps them focus on the most critical decisions rather than spending time gathering information and producing options. All this leads to an airline saving time, controlling costs, but most importantly, limiting flight delays – enhancing the experience for the customer and the work process for the Crewmember.
"We designed Crew Manager to increase crew utilization and satisfaction with schedules that put the right crew in the right place at the right time," said Dana Jones, senior vice president, Sabre Airlines Solutions. "Crew Manager adapts to constant change that occurs at an airline and accommodates an airline's changing business processes, operations requirements, contractual agreements and government regulations. The solution's architecture allows it to integrate with airline's existing technology environment."
Sabre has built Crew Manager with an intuitive, customizable user-interface and a highly configurable rules engine, giving airlines greater control and flexibility than before. The company has also integrated Sabre's crew disruption management technology, Recovery Manager Crew, with Crew Manager. JetBlue has been using this solution and has seen significant reductions in the impact they have faced from a major disruptions like severe weather.
"Crew management is a very complex area of work and is vital in maintaining an efficient operation," said Alex Battaglia, Senior Vice President of System Operations for JetBlue. "Having a system that genuinely helps us manage this complexity and best serve our Crewmembers is a priority. This new Sabre platform will help us greatly."
"Sabre has been a key partner of JetBlue, and Crew Manager will allow us to better serve the vision of our expanding operation," added Eash Sundaram, JetBlue's Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer.
Sabre's leading crew solutions are used by more than 100 airlines globally today, and Sabre's AirCentre Crew Manager highlights its ongoing commitment to provide innovative capabilities for airlines.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
