Migrating to a new passenger service system (PSS) is a complex and momentous decision for airlines due to potential challenges like operational disruptions, data integrity issues, organizational alignment obstacles, and significant revenue/financial implications. Operational glitches, data migration errors, departmental silos, and upfront investment costs are key risks that must be navigated carefully. Despite the complexities, PSS migration is imperative for airlines to modernize systems, meet dynamic passenger demands for personalized experiences, leverage advanced merchandising strategies effectively, and maintain seamless connectivity. With the right approach and experienced partners, airlines can turn PSS migration into a transformative journey.
Passenger Service System (PSS) is the core of an airline and holds a universe of important passenger data as well as a range of product information. Migrating to a new passenger service system is a momentous decision for any airline as it is highly complex and involves migration risks. Though the transition holds multiple potential benefits, it also presents several challenges airlines must navigate before landing to a decision.
Below are some of the complexities of PSS migrations:
Operational Disruptions
Issues related to the operational processes of an airline may arise due to the transition to a new PSS platform. These disruptions may erupt on grounds of several factors, like system downtime, software glitches, integration issues, data migration errors, and more. Operational disruptions may affect crucial airline functions, like passenger check-ins, reservation management, flight scheduling, and customer service. All this can negatively impact customer service as well as the airline's reputation.
Data Integrity
Data integrity issues refer to problems regarding the accuracy and completeness of travelers’ data, transferred from the legacy system to the new PSS platform. These issues usually arise due to data migration errors, outdated data, and data mapping inconsistencies among others. Data integrity during PSS migration can have serious repercussions on airline operations, like flight disruptions, regulatory compliance, customer inconvenience, and more. Ensuring data integrity all through the migration process is required to maintain the accuracy of passenger data, safeguard operational efficiency, and provide a seamless traveler experience.
Data corruption is another data-related risk that occurs if unwanted data types are migrated to the new platform. It poses a system crash/damage to the data organization.
Organizational Alignment
To achieve a glitch-free PSS migration, various departments, including IT, operations, and customer service must collaborate. However, poor communication between departments can lead to delays and misunderstandings, unclear roles and responsibilities, and lack of coordination. Departments may differ regarding priorities and objectives which makes it challenging to synchronize everything for a common goal. Resource constraints and conflicting priorities may slow down the entire pace of PSS migration. ‘Organizational silos’ is another setback that can hinder cross-functional collaboration and alignment during PSS migration.
Revenue and Financial Implications
PSS migration expense encompasses software licensing, technology, and infrastructure investments, product and service development, implementation, training, and ongoing maintenance. It requires considerable upfront investments. Companies may also experience temporary revenue disruptions during the migration phase. Moreover, it also involves considerations related to revenue management, pricing strategies, and customer loyalty programs affected by the migration. Careful planning by the companies is required to balance the upfront investment with long-term benefits while maintaining a seamless migration. Additionally, regulatory compliance and technological advancements contribute to the financial complexity.
The Takeaway
For any airline, modernizing the existing passenger service system (PSS) is nonetheless embarking on a strenuous endeavor, though full of potential but comes with navigational challenges. However, shifting from a legacy system to a modern platform is not just a necessity but an imperative step to meet the dynamic demands of passengers, personalized experiences, and seamless connectivity. Airlines, armed with mountains of data, gathered from advanced merchandising strategies, require a PSS that is fluent in personalized experiences and rapid adaptability.
PSS migration for your airline shouldn’t be akin to an open-heart surgery. With the right and experienced partner, the process can turn into a transformative voyage. Check out this page to get a detailed idea of our PSS migration approach. For further information, connect with us.
