One year later -- proven and ready to weather any storm!

One year ago, Cape Air launched our new airline platform, a 100% completely new, scalable and modern airline passenger service and reservations system. After 130,000 flights and three New England superstorms, we can say the system has been fully tested and is proven, reliable and efficient.

Hosted on two parallel systems, disaster recovery is integrated into the very architecture of the system. When unplanned events strike, or major infrastructure upgrades are required, we have the capability to move between parallel systems without downtime or interrupted service -- and in a matter of minutes. There is no need for experts to fly data tapes to another safe location or spend hours transferring large data files, as with some legacy systems.

Having a redundant architecture allowed us to move Cape Air from their primary reservations environment to their secondary environment and back again, a number of times over the past year. Even during Nemo, Superstorm Sandy and the recent Nor’easter, Cape Air employees were able to offer uninterrupted service to their customers, getting them where they needed to go -- as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Since launching, Cape Air has seen additional benefits and efficiencies, including:

• The new system made it easy for Cape Air to roll out a steady stream of new features and releases that lighten the load for customers and employees. In the past 12 months, Cape Air integrated 464 improvements with an average integration time of only 30-45 days. 
• The integration between the reservations and departure control components allows Cape Air employees to easily shift between the call center and the airport -- using a system that looks and feels the same across these very unique functions. 
• Agents love how easy it is to check in passengers and baggage, and to add other additional information, to better serve their customers. 
• Cape Air customers often cite the ease of use, convenience of booking with a profile, how quickly and easily they can change and cancel reservations, and the general intuitiveness of the system. 

Dan Wolf, CEO of Cape Air, said “The past year has been full of success moments, in large part thanks to the team and technology provided by ITA. The launch was just about the smoothest I’ve ever seen, and we’ve been able to roll out new features without missing a beat. More importantly, our passengers are finding the way they search, book and travel to be faster, easier and more personal. ITA’s airline platform did not disappoint!”

We’re thrilled with the success Cape Air has had over the past year, and look forward to the exciting updates they’re planning for 2013. To learn more about how Cape Air is making history and delighting its travelers, you can read the full case study.

Posted by Ed Orciuch, Manager, Software Engineering, Travel