SITA buys AI platform to optimize airline operations

Airline delays, airspace restrictions, operational constraints and geopolitical events have increased pressure on carriers to improve recovery planning.

That’s the message from SITA as it announces it has acquired Big Blue Analytics, developer of the OCC Assistant Manager (OCCam), an AI platform designed to help airlines respond more effectively when operations go off schedule.

The acquisition reflects a broader trend in aviation toward AI-assisted operational decision-making. While airlines have invested heavily in biometrics, digital identity and passenger processing technologies, carriers are increasingly turning to AI to optimize aircraft, crew and passenger management during periods of operational disruption.

“Airlines have traditionally treated disruption as a fixed cost of doing business, but here is a clear opportunity to approach it differently,” says David Lavorel, SITA CEO. The aviation solutions provider has published research on the barriers to greater efficiency and how IT spending has increased to build more resilient operations.

SITA says OCCam has proven itself in live operations, with the AI-enabled platform able to cut recovery costs by up to 30 percent for airlines using the system. It does this by assessing and evaluating active constraints – from aircraft to crew, passenger itineraries and maintenance – to produce a single recovery plan in minutes, according to a release.

“In an increasingly volatile and fast-moving environment, the ability to recover with the same agility becomes critical,” Lavorel continues. “The airlines that act on this first will recover faster, fly more, and protect more revenue than those that wait, and AI-enabled tools like OCCam are making that possible.”

Managing large-scale operational disruptions is no easy task for airlines. It requires syncing aircraft, crew, passengers and maintenance, while circumstances change by the hour, and a sequential approach to the problem, going along the chain, means small problems can cascade.

SITA, which will bring OCCam into its broader Intelligent Operations Control Center, claims the Big Blue Analytics’ platform allows airlines to more easily measure the impact of every decision and reduces reliance on the sequential decision-making process.

OCCam is able to provide ranked, viable recovery plans that simultaneously optimize aircraft, crew and passenger schedules. By providing a transparent view of costs, OTP and compliance, the system makes every outcome measurable. This ensures airlines can track every decision and quantify savings.

Yann Cabaret, CEO of SITA for Aircraft, described the acquisition as the “first step” towards a larger Intelligent Operations Control Center vision. “AI allows us to handle multiple constraints at once and tailor decisions to each airline in a way that was not possible before,” he says.

SITA will now bring OCCam to airlines globally in the same way SITA OptiFlight was rolled out, “With SITA, we can take what we have built further,” says Pau Collellmir, founder of Big Blue Analytics. “Reaching more airlines, faster, and turning advanced optimization into practical tools that help operations teams work smarter every day.”

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  Big Blue Analytics  |  digital travel  |  SITA