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If you had a ticket on Delta Air Lines last week, your flight may have been delayed for a few hours. You better get used to it. Flight delays due to a "technological problem" are becoming the new standard for air travelers.
Ventilated passengers on social networks.
@delta On track for two hours. Why would I steal you again? Technological problem#delta #Deltasucks
– Telescope (@TelescopeNYC) September 26, 2018
You call it a brief problem of technology? Two hours stuck to the ground? That's a joke?
– Mikado1980 (@MickaelCheron) September 26, 2018
Earlier this year, in my article on the Washington Post, I noted that there was no question of whether, but when another computer disaster would occur. The number of technology-related failures among domestic airlines has increased unevenly over the past decade, from three in 2007 to six in 2017, the highest number in 2015.
I hate when I'm right.
Computer problems seem to worsen. And even though the causes are complex, the emergency plan is as simple as ever. When an airline cancels your flight and blames technology, you can not accept it with a shrug of the shoulders.
Technological "problems" worsen
A study conducted by Qualtrics on behalf of Sungard AS, a global computer services company, noted that a single outage can result in the disappearance of a significant number of customers. According to Sungard AS, more than one-third of passengers (34%) said they would not book another ticket on an airline with a technology-related service interruption.
It's a global problem. Earlier this month, for example, Pakistan International Airlines reportedly delayed flights after its entire reservation system "broke down". It turns out that the operator opts for a new Turkish product based on the Web, called "HITIT". In August, Spirit Airlines experienced a system-wide service disruption, which prevented it from registering passengers. And in June, American Airlines suffered a service outage after a serious computer problem. More on this subject in a minute.
Delta's IT problem remains a mystery. At 20:28, the airline announced that its IT teams were "working diligently" to solve a technological problem affecting some of its systems. "We have made a ground stop at Delta, as we work to restore the systems as quickly as possible," said the airline. "There has been no disruption or security problem with any Delta flights currently in the air."
At 21:20, Delta announced the restoration of all computer systems, blaming flight delays for a "technology problem" that "briefly affected some systems tonight."
And he apologized.
What is causing these technology problems?
"Although the root cause of each event is variable, IT issues in the travel industry can be attributed to a number of critical factors," said Michael Levine, Senior Partner at Schellman & Company, Independent Security and Privacy Assessor .
Airlines do not like to spend a lot of money on technology, so their systems are obsolete before being modernized for a long time, experts say.
"The complex nature of many integrated systems – reservations, flight planning, personnel planning, and so on – can lead to breaks in the chain," says Levine. "Airlines often work with regional affiliates, which means they're also affected by their IT infrastructure and failures."
This is what happened with American Airlines in June. PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary of American, had a material problem with one of its personnel planning systems. "It seems that there was no adequate backup system, so the outage lasted much longer than necessary," says Levine.
It's not just about technology. Major airlines have made sufficient investments in redundant systems across multiple networks, said Brian Gill, CEO of Gillware Data Recovery. They have "incredibly redundant" storage arrays in which the transactional databases running all their operations reside, and this data is backed up in near real-time across multiple private locations and clouds.
"The weak point of the chain", he explains, "these are the humans".
Employees and contractors are not adequately trained to monitor the system or to combat cybercrime.
"It only takes one human to do something incredibly ignorant or stupid," Gill says. Errors go from a programmer handling data in an unsecured way or from a marketing manager uploading customer data into an unsecured third party application.
"It requires a serious commitment from the highest level of management to spend intelligently and adequately, to prevent the risk of major breakdowns or data breaches," he says.
What can you do about a flight delay?
If you are a passenger, you are probably wondering: what can I do to avoid a technological problem?
The short answer: you can not.
Even the best airlines are experiencing IT collapses. In 2016, for example, Southwest Airlines suffered a massive outage due to a single Cisco router. I proposed a detailed description of the computer catastrophe in my Washington Post column. I have also personally assisted a large number of displaced passengers through my nonprofit consumer advocacy site.
But you can have a solid emergency plan. Instead of complaining about social media, look for the airline's contract of carriage – the legal agreement between you and the airline – and find out what the airline can do for you under its rules. (This is the Southwest contract.) The Department of Transportation (DOT), which regulates airlines, notes that the law does not require airlines to provide you with meals and overnight. But in a computer crash, they do it sometimes.
An airline, especially a low-cost or low-cost airline, can claim that a technological problem is an event beyond one's control. This is an important distinction when you are dealing with a flight from or to Europe, where EU 261, a consumer protection law is in force. But that's just about anything. Computer problems are preventable and preventable and are largely under the control of the airline. If an airline says otherwise, contact the local aviation regulators.
When a computer problem causes the cancellation of a flight, your airline must take you to your destination on the next available flight or refund your ticket in full and immediately. But computer disasters are so embarrassing that most airlines add excuses, free tickets and even more excuses to win back.
After all, they do not want you to be part of the 34%.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can not. He is the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes weekly columns for King Features Syndicate, USA Today and The Washington Post. If you have a consumer problem that you can not solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter.
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If you had a ticket on Delta Air Lines last week, your flight may have been delayed for a few hours. You better get used to it. Flight delays due to a "technological problem" are becoming the new standard for air travelers.
Passengers ventilated on social media.
@delta On track for two hours. Why would I steal you again? Technological problem#delta #Deltasucks
– Telescope (@TelescopeNYC) September 26, 2018
You call it a brief problem of technology? Two hours stuck to the ground? That's a joke?
– Mikado1980 (@MickaelCheron) September 26, 2018
Earlier this year, in my article on the Washington Post, I noted that there was no question of whether, but when another computer disaster would occur. The number of technology-related failures among domestic airlines has increased unevenly over the past decade, from three in 2007 to six in 2017, the highest number in 2015.
I hate when I'm right.
Computer problems seem to be developing. And even though the causes are complex, the emergency plan is as simple as ever. When an airline cancels your flight and blames technology, you can not accept it with a shrug of the shoulders.
Technological problems are deteriorating
A study conducted by Qualtrics on behalf of Sungard AS, a global IT services company, revealed that a single outage could scare away a significant number of customers. According to Sungard AS, more than one-third of passengers (34%) said they would not book another ticket on an airline with a technology-related service interruption.
It's a global problem. Earlier this month, for example, Pakistan International Airlines reportedly delayed flights after its entire reservation system "broke down". It turns out that the operator opts for a new Turkish product based on the Web, called "HITIT". In August, Spirit Airlines experienced a system-wide service disruption, which prevented it from registering passengers. And in June, American Airlines suffered a service outage after a serious computer problem. More on this subject in a minute.
Delta's IT problem remains a mystery. At 20:28, the airline announced that its IT teams were "working diligently" to solve a technological problem affecting some of its systems. "We have made a ground stop at Delta, as we work to restore the systems as quickly as possible," said the airline. "There has been no disruption or security problem with any Delta flights currently in the air."
At 21:20, Delta announced the restoration of all computer systems, blaming flight delays for a "technology problem" that "briefly affected some systems tonight."
And he apologized.
What are the causes of these technological problems?
"Although the root cause of each event is variable, IT issues in the travel industry can be attributed to a number of critical factors," said Michael Levine, Senior Partner at Schellman & Company, Independent Security and Privacy Assessor .
Airlines do not like to spend a lot of money on technology, so their systems are obsolete before being modernized for a long time, experts say.
"The complex nature of many integrated systems – reservations, flight planning, personnel planning, and so on – can lead to breaks in the chain," says Levine. "Airlines often work with regional affiliates, which means they're also affected by their IT infrastructure and failures."
This is what happened with American Airlines in June. PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary of American, had a material problem with one of its personnel planning systems. "It seems like there may not have been an adequate backup system in place, so the outage lasted much longer than necessary," said Levine.
It's not just about technology. Major airlines have made sufficient investments in redundant systems across multiple networks, said Brian Gill, CEO of Gillware Data Recovery. They have "incredibly redundant" storage arrays in which the transactional databases running all their operations reside, and this data is backed up in near real-time across multiple private locations and clouds.
"The weak point of the chain", he explains, "these are the humans".
Employees and contractors are not adequately trained to monitor the system or to combat cybercrime.
"It only takes one human to do something incredibly ignorant or stupid," Gill says. The errors go from a programmer handling insecure data to a marketing manager by downloading client data into an unsecure third party application.
"It requires a serious commitment from the highest level of management to spend intelligently and adequately, to prevent the risk of major breakdowns or data breaches," he says.
What can you do about a flight delay?
If you are a passenger, you are probably wondering: what can I do to avoid a technological problem?
The short answer: you can not.
Even the best airlines have computer crashes. In 2016, for example, Southwest Airlines suffered a massive outage due to a single Cisco router. I offered a computer game play of the computer catastrophe in my Washington Post column. I have also personally assisted a large number of displaced passengers through my nonprofit consumer advocacy site.
But you can have a solid emergency plan. Instead of complaining about social media, look for the airline's contract of carriage – the legal agreement between you and the airline – and find out what the airline can do for you under its rules. (This is the Southwest contract.) The Ministry of Transportation (DOT), which regulates airlines, notes that airlines are not required by law to provide you with meals and overnight. But in a computer crash, they do it sometimes.
An airline, especially a low-cost or low-cost airline, can claim that a technological problem is an event beyond one's control. This is an important distinction when you are dealing with a flight from or to Europe, where EU 261, a consumer protection law is in force. But that's just about anything. Computer problems are preventable and preventable and are very much under the control of the airline. If an airline says otherwise, contact the local aviation regulators.
When a computer problem causes a flight cancellation, your airline must drive you to your destination on the next available flight or refund you full and immediate your ticket. But computer disasters are so embarrassing that most airlines add excuses, free tickets and even more excuses to win back.
After all, they do not want you to be part of the 34%.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can not. He is the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes weekly columns for King Features Syndicate, USA Today and the Washington Post. If you have a consumer problem that you can not solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter.
