Flying on time: TCS-developed app powers AirAsia India's punctuality record

At No 3 in early 2022, the AirAsia India airline has topped the on-time performance for five straight months since April

A data analytics-driven app developed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is helping AirAsia India improve its punctuality score and fly ahead of other airlines in terms of, well, flying on time.

AirAsia India topped on-time performance (OTP) among major airlines for five consecutive months (April-August), according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data. In 2021, it came second in OTP for six of the 12 months but slipped in ranking in the first three months of 2022.

Work on the app, which allows the airline management to track flight operations in real time, began in mid-2020, as India battled the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was also when AirAsia India began transitioning away from control of its Malaysian parent. A new website was designed, and a separate crew training centre and a crew scheduling software was developed for AirAsia India.

Early in 2020, AirAsia India carried out a survey, which highlighted that flight punctuality is a key driver of passenger travel choice. This led the airline management, led by CEO Sunil Bhaskaran, to collaborate with TCS to design the app. AirAsia India owns the app’s intellectual property.

“We have consistently embraced technology to deliver operational efficiency and enhance the guest experience. The introduction of RedSmart Plus (analytics app) has further enhanced live tracking of our inflight and on-ground operational processes,” an airline spokesperson said.

How RedSmart Plus app works

• Enables airline management to monitor precisely how much time is taken for each task: loading/unloading, aircraft cleaning, fuelling, catering etc

• Ground personnel feed details into the app after completing an activity

• App’s analytics function provides reports on projected on-time performance for the day, helps airline manage operations better

Flight punctuality depends upon multiple factors and on-ground activities. Weather or maintenance issues are a factor. Late reporting by crew for flights or allocation of a distant parking bay can also influence on-time departure.

A series of activities are carried out before a departure (loading/unloading, aircraft cleaning, fuelling, catering etc), and the RedSmart Plus app enables the airline management to monitor exactly how much time is taken for each task. Ground personnel of the airline use the app to feed details after completion of an activity. “Tasks need to be completed in a fixed time and the management knows exactly what time the boarding was finished, the aircraft door was closed and so on,” an executive explained.

The app has analytics functions, too, that provide the airline reports on projected on-time performance for the day and helps it to manage operations better.

The app was upgraded last year and more functionalities were added. Apart from aircraft turnaround, it generates reports on fuel uplift, engineering, schedule analysis, arrival baggage, transfer passengers, among others.

“AirAsia India has achieved higher OTP over the past few months due to better operational control. The airline has limited operations in Mumbai, which has helped it in a way,” said Ameya Joshi, founder of aviation blog Network Thoughts. “AirAsia India is not operating all its approved schedule. This means that it would have staff to handle more flights than it has, thus speeding up ground and terminal operations. What has also helped AirAsia is being at a single terminal in both Mumbai and Delhi, whereas IndiGo has its operations split across terminals,” Joshi added.

The airline, however, claimed that operating fewer flights poses challenges in maintaining an OTP.

“We have been adjusting our operating capacity in line with the demand recovery, which is 75-80 per cent of pre-Covid levels. It is not correct to assume that 15-20 per cent fewer flights than pre-Covid can help attain better on-time performance,” the airline spokesperson said. “On the contrary, fewer flights can create challenges in maintaining OTP. For instance, fewer flights mean fewer alternatives for connecting options for guests or crew in case an incoming flight is delayed.”

“We believe that our robust processes, digital and technological interventions and organisational focus on demonstrable performance metrics like on-time performance are scalable as we grow our operations in the future,” he added.