Delta's troubles reflect a wider industry problem

The failure of Delta Air Lines Inc.'s worldwide computer network this week spotlights the vulnerability of the information systems sustaining the biggest U.S. carriers, each of which has contended with major disruptions during the last year.

Complex networks cobbled together over the decades need major overhauls requiring significant new investments, said Bob Edwards, a former chief information officer for United Continental Holdings Inc. Recent flaws in computer systems quickly escalated into corporate black eyes that exacted costs in money and reputation.

"I don't believe the flight ops, maintenance, passenger service systems, crew, and dispatch applications are engineered with the level of redundancy needed," said Edwards, who retired in 2014 under pressure after several service disruptions at United. More disruptions are a near certainty, he said: "Mistakes will happen, devices will malfunction."

The Delta debacle marks a wake-up call for an airline industry in which outdated information systems can strand thousands of passengers. The Atlanta-based airline, which had been leading major carriers in reliability, is far from alone in stumbling. Southwest Airlines Co. said a computer failure July 20 would cost it "tens of millions" of dollars after more than 2,300 flights were canceled.

Delta scrapped about 800 flights Tuesday, after about 1,000 cancellations Monday. The airline began Wednesday with about 150 cancellations but said that by late afternoon it was "largely back to normal." Check-in, boarding, and dispatch systems were working normally, with most delays related to crew location and limits on hours worked.

Delta spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" on technology upgrades and backup systems in the last three years to avoid such an outcome, chief executive officer Ed Bastian said in a video message to customers Tuesday.

"I'm sorry that it happened," he said. "This isn't who we are."

Delta isn't the only airline struggling with outdated technology, said Mark Jaggers, an analyst at the technology research firm Gartner Inc.

"A lot of airlines have been struggling with legacy systems that they are not able to shut down - decommission to move through their life cycle - because they have a 24/7 operation," Jaggers said.

Last month at Southwest, computers were restored after about 12 hours, but flights continued to be canceled or delayed for several days as the carrier worked to get crews and planes in the right locations. The carrier also fell victim to a reservations-system glitch in October.

A connectivity flaw at American Airlines Group Inc. halted flights at its Chicago, Dallas, and Miami hubs in September. A United Continental computer fault last summer lasted two hours and disrupted travel for thousands of fliers. It began with a router malfunctioning and prevented the carrier from ticketing passengers and dispatching crews.

The cost of having duplicate software and hardware at different locations is minor when compared with the expense of having a system down for several hours, not to mention the damage to the airline's reputation, said Ahmed Abdelghany, a professor of operations management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

"We shouldn't talk about the cost of making your system reliable, because you live on that system," Abdelghany said. "It's like an operation room at a hospital: You can't say I don't have power or I don't have a backup for the system."