Few industries demand agility and adaptability like commercial aviation, where the need to react and pivot quickly, especially during unexpected events, can make the difference in service continuity and customer trust.
Many airlines face growing threats to operational uptime and regulatory compliance, including outdated systems, and climate disruptions. In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, businesses must be agile and digitally prepared to stay ahead, with IDC predicting that 80% of CIOs will restructure their organizations to adopt AI, automation, and analytics by 2028.
Scoot, a low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, recognized the crucial need to modernize its flight disruption management system and developed a Virtual Operations Command Center (vOCC) application, which helped to coordinate notifications and eliminate communication bottlenecks between stakeholders during operational disruptions.
Significant outcomes for Scoot include a 90% increase in data visibility across all stakeholders and a reduction of more than 60% in manual processing time. DigiconAsia found out more from Jaya Balaji MV, Vice President, Information Technology, Scoot, about what it takes to be a digital-first business and the difference that makes in the fast-moving aviation industry.
Jaya Balaji MV, Vice President, Information Technology, Scoot
How important is it for businesses to be digital-first today? What significant impact does it make?
Balaji: Being a digital-first business is essential for operational efficiency, and at Scoot, embracing this strategy has been pivotal in enhancing our ability to respond quickly to disruptions, ensuring smooth operations and customer satisfaction.
Such modern digital systems, such as the Virtual Operations Command Centre (vOCC) application, have significantly increased our agility by streamlining communications and allowing us to adapt swiftly to ever-evolving industry benchmarks – an invaluable advantage in the fast-paced aviation industry.
This digital approach has also strengthened customer trust by enabling timely and transparent communication, particularly during flight delays or cancellations, which ultimately boosts customer loyalty.
To be digital-first requires the right culture and mindset. How can technology leaders foster a strong digital mindset across teams to drive adoption and implement agile frameworks within traditionally complex industries such as aviation?
Balaji: At Scoot, we encourage our teams to view technology as an enabler, not just a tool. This shift in mindset helps us navigate the complexities of aviation by fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation, where every individual has the opportunity to contribute and influence technological outcomes.
We empower our team by adopting low-code platforms like OutSystems, enabling our developers to work faster and more efficiently while reducing the need for extensive resources and specialist roles.
By providing accessible solutions to complex problems, we enhance productivity and support agile work practices. This focus on developing an agile mindset ensures our teams can quickly adapt to change, allowing us to stay ahead in the fast-evolving aviation industry, where adaptability is key.
What did Scoot do to modernize its flight disruption management system?
Balaji: Scoot’s previous communication system relied heavily on fragmented group chats, resulting in over 600 manual notifications being sent daily across various teams. This made it difficult for critical updates such as flight disruptions or delays to reach the right stakeholders promptly, leading to communication bottlenecks, longer lead times in the decision-making process, and a negative impact on customer satisfaction.
Recognizing the need for a streamlined solution, Scoot chose OutSystems for its developer-friendly platform and proven success in other internal applications.
The vOCC application enabled real-time updates and centralized communication across all stakeholders. In addition, as the platform handles confidential operational data, OutSystems’ built-in security features allowed Scoot to meet stringent information security standards, ensuring the app was both secure and compliant, preventing any data leaks.
What plans does Scoot have to further enhance its applications by leveraging AI?
Balaji: At Scoot, we are exploring the use of agentic AI across operational systems to automate routine processes, improve internal coordination, and strengthen how we deliver timely, personalized updates to passengers. Centralizing operational information through platforms like vOCC will give our teams faster access to critical data, enhance cross-team responsiveness, and enable more consistent disruption management.
As a digital-first airline, we will continue investing in technologies that reinforce efficiency, agility, and reliability. Our focus, moving forward, is on using digital innovation to make travel smarter, more connected, and ultimately more seamless for both our passengers and internal operations.
