IT holds key to simplify business

British Airways (BA) is using technology to drive change across its business, simplifying processes, cutting costs and increasing revenues.

The airline said last week that IT has played a crucial role in its turnaround from a struggling business five years ago to the world's most profitable airline today.

BA chief information officer Paul Coby says putting services online and using technology has provided the impetus for the airline to rationalise processes across the entire business.

Coby's IT rejuvenation programme, spearheaded by the 'Customer-enabled BA' initiative, is streamlining BA and optimising its operational processes. 'IT is a tremendous lever for simplification of the airline, and enables simplification of the business,' said Coby.

For an organisation with some 45,000 staff and 290 aircraft, handling 36 million passengers last year, reducing complexity is a serious challenge.

At the heart of the change is BA.com, the central point of customer interaction - for booking tickets, choosing seats and meals, and managing air miles. But each new feature on the site can only be rolled out when the relevant part of the organisation changes its own processes.

'You can't automate complexity or ambiguity,' said Coby. 'One of the things we're looking to do is have each department improve and simplify whatever they do.' One example is the range of fare options, which has been reduced for ease of use online.

'You can't have a drop-down menu with 25 choices; it's not going to work,' said Coby. The effect of the simplification programme can be seen across the business. Some 600,000 passengers a month now use self-service kiosks to check in for their flights.

Three-quarters of all tickets are issued electronically across the airline's entire network, with eticketing rising to 98 per cent in the UK, US and Ireland.

'We've worked hard with the International Air Transport Association to put in a target for the whole sector, so we will be the first industry to have gone completely paperless,' said Coby.

Customer use of BA.com is rising steadily, from just three per cent of passengers two years ago to 20 per cent today.

IT will continue to play a core role in the business, not only helping achieve a further £300m in cost savings, but also providing better services to customers.

'We aim to make all interactions across the company go online, which will drive further cost savings,' said Coby.

BA also plans to expand its site so that passengers can not only buy flights, but also book hotels, cars, sightseeing packages, airport transfers and more.

'The idea is that you'll be able to shop for your flight and other products together. BA.com, the airline online, becomes the central place where people interact with us, not because they have to, but because they want to,' said Coby. 'If we can do that, we're actually making this magic virtual circle: not only by making happier customers and adding value, but by taking costs out.'