Alaska Airlines is working to make AI-powered flight scheduling part of its daily operations. The Seattle-based airline has been testing a smart tool that helps plan flights more efficiently, aiming to match schedules with other flights and improve connections for travelers.
Earlier this year, Alaska Airlines had a scheduling mistake that caused it to lose many passengers on one route. A simple change of one hour made a big impact, reducing the route’s profit by double digits.
Why Use AI?
Alaska Airlines partnered with UP.Labs to launch an AI-powered startup called Odysee. This tool uses AI to improve scheduling and logistics. For example, in spring, Alaska delayed a daily flight from Redmond, Oregon, to San Francisco by one hour. The change seemed small but led to missed connections for many travelers, significantly affecting passenger numbers and revenue.
Kristen Amrine, Alaska Airlines’ Vice President of Revenue Management, explained how that one-hour change led to a big drop in profits, as connections were missed and the flight lost passengers.
Predicting Challenges with AI
Alaska has now returned the Redmond-San Francisco flight to its original time. However, the airline knows that predicting the impact of schedule changes can be complex, as it depends on demand, connections, and staffing. Alaska Star Ventures, the airline’s investment arm, along with Odysee, is developing an AI tool to help predict these effects and use planes more efficiently.
According to Amrine, “With this tool, we can test different schedule changes and instantly see how they would impact revenue. It’s more accurate than manual planning.”
What’s Next?
Steve Casley, Odysee’s CEO, said the AI tool was tested on over 700,000 Alaska flights, achieving 90% accuracy in predicting outcomes of schedule changes. For example, it can simulate how a one-hour change might impact flight delays or revenue. Alaska expects to roll out this AI tool by the first half of next year, helping to avoid scheduling problems and keep passengers connected.
Source: simpleflying
