All Nippon Airways (ANA) has unveiled a new system that enhances its ability to adjust schedules due to disruptions affecting the Tokyo-based carrier's domestic flight operations.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has unveiled a new system that enhances its ability to adjust schedules due to disruptions affecting the Tokyo-based carrier's domestic flight operations.
In partnership with Hitachi along with its subsidiary Hitachi Consulting Co., the new system was launched as an “Operations Brain” using ANA's operational expertise and Hitachi's technological capabilities. Development first started for the system in 2019, and ANA states it is the first of such system implemented by a Japanese airline.
According to ANA, the new system collects and analyzes large amounts of data - including aircraft operation schedules, maintenance plans, crew schedules, and various airport conditions – to autonomously generate multiple revised scheduled proposals. The system adapts to real-time changes – including modifications to maintenance plans, airport/runway closures, and consecutive irregular events across multiple airports. With the system, ANA's operations staff can review and select the most effective option to adjust flight schedules on disrupted flights while reducing decision times.
Previously, seasoned operation staff were primarily tasked with formulating flight schedule adjustments within a limited time. With the system, ANA stated the time needed to consider revisions was reduced by up to 70%. The airline could better respond to changes in weather forecasts such as typhoon paths and speeds, while reducing the impact on its customers.
Image: Overview of ANA's "Operation Brain" system (Credit: All Nippon Airways)
In a statement, ANA highlighted how the use of the system has enhanced its operations saying: “Extensive trials confirmed that the system's proposals match the quality of schedules produced by highly experienced operations staff while reducing work time by several hours, especially during large-scale disruptions. For example, in scenarios where typhoons severely disrupted flight operations, veteran ANA staff with more than a decade of experience previously spent entire nights manually adjusting schedules to minimize impact.”
Following the deployment of the system on ANA domestic operations, Hitachi will plan to expand the system as the Lumada solutions – extending the capabilities to ANA's international operations and other airlines around the world.
ANA concluded: “Amid the global push for digital technology in the aviation industry, this system boasts exceptional accuracy in two key areas: its versatility to automate solutions for any disruption, from major events to daily issues, and the comprehensiveness to replicate the operational quality ANA has honed in a challenging environment like Japan, with its frequent typhoons and complex flight paths.”
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