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As a technologist my sympathy goes out to Virgin. Airline reservation systems are some of the most complicated beasts we've ever created. The risks of migrating

by jtchang 15y ago

As a technologist my sympathy goes out to Virgin. Airline reservation systems are some of the most complicated beasts we've ever created. The risks of migrating are enormous and with the busiest travel days ahead you can bet that David Cush has every resource available trying to fix the issues. That said it is never easy. The changes may amount to just a handful of lines but understanding such systems is key. My most recent encounter with bugs was that the system couldn't find a reservation for me even though I made one while authenticated. I just plugged in the confirmation number manually and that seemed to work. I didn't think too much of it though...maybe because I am use to mediocrity in the airline industry as a whole.

namdnay 15y ago
It's funny how until you are in a business, you don't realise how monstrously complicated it can be. I work for another GDS (if Sabre is an "800 pound gorilla", I suppose that makes us a small elephant), and the amount of work that goes into a cutover is just mind-boggling. And if you think this type of transition is dangerous, consider the fact that this is a switch of the reservation system, not the DCS (departure control). That's when things can get really messy...
- numlocked 15y ago
  A deep-linked article had a good quote about the complexity of cut-over transition like this: "It is the business equivalent of taking out the brain of a human being, while they are laying on the table and you're having a conversation with them."
waterside81 15y ago
Having worked with Sabre and Gallileo (did they merge?), I, too, can attest to the fun and joy of working with airline res systems. Wacky XML, fixed length fields, unique fields that aren't really unique. It's a right of passage that most devs should take so that they (1) Promise never to build something like this and (2) Learn to never work in travel.
- namdnay 15y ago
  The problem is that we're having to keep perfect compatibility with stuff that was done in the seventies. So you quickly end up with something just as (if not more) horrendous as the Windows or Office codebase. Take EDIFACT for example...
  - waterside81 15y ago
    Oh for sure compatibility is a huge issue and getting airlines to update and keep in step with things like herding cats. I don't envy the role of a dev who works for one of the large GDS's
- r00fus 15y ago
  > Wacky XML, fixed length fields, unique fields that aren't really unique. If you've ever done enterprise integration, sadly, this is far from exceptional - in fact, it's the norm.
mirkules 15y ago
Take note: this is a great example of how customer service should be handled. 1) Explain what went wrong and why 2) Explain the countermeasures and how long it will take (obviously, they didn't meet their goal -- in that case, a note explaining why more time is needed) 3) Increase support staff, especially if there is an influx of callers because of the problems 4) Offer your customers something of value as an apology 5) Bonus: CEO makes himself available to small-time reporters. I think this step alone shows incredible goodwill. The first post on this thread starts with "As a technologist my sympathy goes out to Virgin." I can't imagine the same response if the company was not so open through the entire process (Delta comes to mind).
- silencio 15y ago
  Re: point number 3 I especially love how their support is actually fixing problems. When I had a lot of trouble booking my flight and idly complained on Twitter in the middle of the night, I had a response within hours and eventually after a couple emails got to the point where I was on the phone with someone who called, at a time convenient for me, to book my flight for practically free for the inconvenience I had dealt with with exactly the flight and seats I wanted. The reason I try not to fly with any non-Virgin America airline is because I don't believe that any traditional airline would have listened on Twitter and then called me at my leisure to fix their problem and book a $300 flight for chump change in taxes and frequent flier points in order to book the flight for me. I don't know if I'm just getting the special treatment for someone that has flown over 2x roundtrips a month with Virgin, but I've gotten this kind of amazing treatment from them and their Twitter team when I only flew a couple times a year too. Despite the ups and downs, I couldn't be happier.

by jtchang 15y ago

namdnay 15y ago

It's funny how until you are in a business, you don't realise how monstrously complicated it can be. I work for another GDS (if Sabre is an "800 pound gorilla", I suppose that makes us a small elephant), and the amount of work that goes into a cutover is just mind-boggling. And if you think this type of transition is dangerous, consider the fact that this is a switch of the reservation system, not the DCS (departure control). That's when things can get really messy...

numlocked 15y ago
A deep-linked article had a good quote about the complexity of cut-over transition like this: "It is the business equivalent of taking out the brain of a human being, while they are laying on the table and you're having a conversation with them."

waterside81 15y ago

Having worked with Sabre and Gallileo (did they merge?), I, too, can attest to the fun and joy of working with airline res systems. Wacky XML, fixed length fields, unique fields that aren't really unique. It's a right of passage that most devs should take so that they (1) Promise never to build something like this and (2) Learn to never work in travel.

namdnay 15y ago
The problem is that we're having to keep perfect compatibility with stuff that was done in the seventies. So you quickly end up with something just as (if not more) horrendous as the Windows or Office codebase. Take EDIFACT for example...
- waterside81 15y ago
  Oh for sure compatibility is a huge issue and getting airlines to update and keep in step with things like herding cats. I don't envy the role of a dev who works for one of the large GDS's
r00fus 15y ago
> Wacky XML, fixed length fields, unique fields that aren't really unique. If you've ever done enterprise integration, sadly, this is far from exceptional - in fact, it's the norm.

mirkules 15y ago

Take note: this is a great example of how customer service should be handled. 1) Explain what went wrong and why 2) Explain the countermeasures and how long it will take (obviously, they didn't meet their goal -- in that case, a note explaining why more time is needed) 3) Increase support staff, especially if there is an influx of callers because of the problems 4) Offer your customers something of value as an apology 5) Bonus: CEO makes himself available to small-time reporters. I think this step alone shows incredible goodwill. The first post on this thread starts with "As a technologist my sympathy goes out to Virgin." I can't imagine the same response if the company was not so open through the entire process (Delta comes to mind).

silencio 15y ago
Re: point number 3 I especially love how their support is actually fixing problems. When I had a lot of trouble booking my flight and idly complained on Twitter in the middle of the night, I had a response within hours and eventually after a couple emails got to the point where I was on the phone with someone who called, at a time convenient for me, to book my flight for practically free for the inconvenience I had dealt with with exactly the flight and seats I wanted. The reason I try not to fly with any non-Virgin America airline is because I don't believe that any traditional airline would have listened on Twitter and then called me at my leisure to fix their problem and book a $300 flight for chump change in taxes and frequent flier points in order to book the flight for me. I don't know if I'm just getting the special treatment for someone that has flown over 2x roundtrips a month with Virgin, but I've gotten this kind of amazing treatment from them and their Twitter team when I only flew a couple times a year too. Despite the ups and downs, I couldn't be happier.