1 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: As an airline, we make money when the planes are 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:09,239 Speaker 1: in the air, not on the ground. We want to 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: be able to get all these diverse group of folks 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 1: who are now coming together to try to do their 5 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: specific function, but also knowing that the plane has to 6 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: push back on time, so they come together for those 7 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: forty minutes. They work together, and they are on a 8 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: live chat and they can basically troubleshoot real time to 9 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: solve any problems they are on into and if they 10 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:32,519 Speaker 1: need to engage anybody outside of that huddle, they have 11 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: the option of connecting back to our s o C, 12 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: which is our Systems Operations Control and getting additional help 13 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: as well. But we basically created this virtual flash mob 14 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 1: power through five G which has made a big impact 15 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: on essentially ensuring that we can turn our aircraft as 16 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: quickly around as possible and continuing to be one of 17 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: the most on time airlines in the country. Welcome to 18 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: the Restless Ones. I'm Jonathan Strickland. As you may know, 19 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: I've spent the last fIF teen years covering technology and 20 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: learning how it works, demystifying everything from massive parallel processing 21 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: to advanced robotics and everything in between. Yet it's the 22 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: conversations with some of the most forward thinking leaders, those 23 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,399 Speaker 1: at the intersection of technology and business that fascinate me 24 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: the most. When it comes to complicated industries that have 25 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 1: to respond immediately to rapidly changing scenarios, it's hard to 26 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: top the airline business. Coordinating operations is a monumental task, 27 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: requiring cooperation and collaboration as well as the right suite 28 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:43,760 Speaker 1: of technological tools. Vicrambaskern's job involves identifying areas where the 29 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: right technological solution can improve operations. Some of them are 30 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: passenger focused and some are more about back end operations, 31 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: but at the end of the day, they all have 32 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: a huge impact on the business as a whole and, 33 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: as it turns out, on your experience when it's time 34 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: to travel. I was eager to talk with Vicram about 35 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: the innovations Alaska Airlines is exploring that are going to 36 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 1: transform travel and make the process of going from place 37 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:14,679 Speaker 1: to place a more seamless, less stressful endeavor all well 38 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,239 Speaker 1: meeting efficiency goals. But first I wanted to learn more 39 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: about Vicram's background. Vicram, I, I want to welcome you 40 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: to the Restless Ones. Thank you so much for joining 41 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: our show. Yeah, Thank you, Jonathan for having me excited 42 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,799 Speaker 1: to be here. I was hoping you could tell us 43 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: a bit about how you first got interested in engineering. 44 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: I have always loved to build things, whether it was 45 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: legos as a kid, or putting together paper planes or 46 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: one of those model aircraft. I love building things. So 47 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: as I was going through high school and trying to 48 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:55,799 Speaker 1: figure out what I wanted to do, engineering and kept 49 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: popping back up as something which probably fits my areas 50 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: of interests. Uh. I started pretty early and stuck to 51 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: my passion. One of the things I love about engineers 52 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: in general is how they see the world as sets 53 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,639 Speaker 1: of challenges and opportunities and start to come up with solutions. 54 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,919 Speaker 1: And when I look through your accolades, I could tell 55 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: that's very much the sort of engineer I would be 56 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: talking to. Can you tell us a bit about how 57 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: you made the leap into the airline industry? Oh? Yeah, absolutely. 58 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: Airlines have always been something I've been interested in as 59 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: I started my career in engineering, because I've had friends 60 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: who worked in the industry, either flying planes or working 61 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: for airlines, and I've always heard about the unique set 62 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: of challenges and airline has I don't want to date myself. 63 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: But this was back in the nineties and things were expanding. 64 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: I mean, more people who were flying globally, more people 65 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: are flying in the United States, and that travel was 66 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: picking up quite a bit. The other aspect of an 67 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: airline industry which fascinated me was seeing new places. So 68 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: I love to travel and I have always enjoyed visiting 69 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: new cities and learning about new cultures and eating all 70 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: the cool foods, and so it kind of brought together 71 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: two passions of mine, which was travel and planes, and 72 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 1: the output of that was an airline kind of became 73 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: a natural fit for me. As you say, airlines do 74 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: present numerous challenges. They're one of the most complicated industries 75 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: that I have ever really looked into. When you consider 76 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: everything that has to happen in order for operations to 77 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: run smoothly. How would you describe your job to someone 78 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: who's a casual acquaintance, maybe you're at a get together 79 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 1: and it's not someone who's in the industry. How do 80 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,479 Speaker 1: you describe to them what it is you do? So, 81 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: simply put, I would boil it down to maybe smart connectors, 82 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: I think would be a way would explain everything we 83 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: do from a technology perspective. The reason I use those 84 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: two words is we are basically in the function of 85 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 1: trying to connect our employees to each other to be 86 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 1: able to turn an aircraft around faster, get an aircraft 87 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: ready to fly out, ensuring that our pilots and our 88 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: flight attendants and customer service agents have the right information 89 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: to do their jobs. Connecting our employees to our guests 90 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: who actually are coming out to the airport or are 91 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: in the process of booking a trip, and bringing all 92 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: of these folks together, as well as our management and 93 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,479 Speaker 1: our back office teams who actually support our customers and 94 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: our employees to essentially one platform to solve all of 95 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: these challenges and get our guests safely from point A 96 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: to point B while enabling our employees to deliver what 97 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:52,119 Speaker 1: Alaska is known for, which is basically our award winning 98 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: customer service. So I see myself and my organization as 99 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: a smart connector who actually makes all of this happen. 100 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: This is great opportunity for us to talk more specifically 101 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:07,600 Speaker 1: about Alaska Airlines. Can you talk about the kinds of 102 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: challenges and opportunities you see there? Yeah? Absolutely, But the 103 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:16,480 Speaker 1: Alaska Airlines our primary goal is creating an airline people love, 104 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: and the key here is creating. I don't think we'll 105 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: ever be done, but we want to provide an airline 106 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 1: to our customers and our employees which can not only 107 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: get you safely from point A to point B, but 108 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: also deliver award winning guest experiences and a place where 109 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,119 Speaker 1: employees can come into work and bring the whole selves 110 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: to work and be successful at what they do. So 111 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: a key part of doing all of this for us 112 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,720 Speaker 1: starts with safety. So we've been known for being one 113 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: of the safest airlines not only in the United States 114 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,720 Speaker 1: but worldwide. So everything starts from the basis of safety 115 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 1: to make sure that we're on a safe operation for 116 00:06:55,960 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 1: our employees and our guests. We then build on that 117 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: to say, how can we keep our employees happy and 118 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: providing them the right set of tools and capability to 119 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: deliver the best guest experience. And then on the customer 120 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: side of it, focus on providing them not only the 121 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: self service capabilities we've all started to use quite a 122 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: bit more over the last few years, but also connecting 123 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: them to employees who can help out in times when 124 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: they actually need some extra help. So it's a combination 125 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 1: of all of these things is what we try to 126 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: do every day well, and to get into some more 127 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: recent challenges that the entire industry has faced, can you 128 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: talk a bit about some of the things you had 129 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: to address during the COVID pandemic and some of the 130 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: solutions that you rolled out in order to meet very 131 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: rapidly changing situations before COVID. I thought I'd seen everything 132 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: because I joined United pre nine eleven, and then of 133 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: course there was nine eleven and bankruptcy, and and then 134 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: when COVID hit, it required us to essentially build a 135 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: brand new playbook of what we needed to do to 136 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: keep our employees and guests safe and also function as 137 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 1: a business, which at a specific point down to very 138 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: little revenue. As you can imagine, there were very few 139 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: people flying, and the airline industry is so critical for 140 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 1: the United States as a whole, but also specific communities 141 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 1: in the United States, like the state of Alaska, where 142 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: air travel is essentially the lifeblood of specific communities, and 143 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: we wanted to make sure that we could safely keep 144 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: flying between those destinations and providing the key service for 145 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: the customers who needed whether it was a pandemic or not. 146 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,120 Speaker 1: So there were subsets of our organization, which we gave 147 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: them the ability to work remotely, So that was a 148 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: big part of what we did. We gave them the 149 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 1: ability to do this from home. For folks who came 150 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: into the office I had to fly and work at 151 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: our airports. We wanted to make sure that we were 152 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: giving them up to date information with respect of the pandemic, 153 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,200 Speaker 1: with respect to safety, with respect to anything they need, 154 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: so that they could feel safe about coming to work 155 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: and actually flying to all of these different cities and 156 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,319 Speaker 1: continuing to operate the lost airlines, even though at a 157 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,959 Speaker 1: much smaller scale. I'm not certain that my audience appreciates 158 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: how complicated this is when you're talking about an airline, 159 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: because not only are you implementing these new tools in 160 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: order to ensure safety and continue productivity, but those tools 161 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:29,679 Speaker 1: have to work in a way that integrates with existing 162 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:35,319 Speaker 1: systems and doesn't break anything that's already working. For airlines 163 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: in particular, being able to develop tests and then deploy 164 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: these tools is something that has incredible sense of urgency 165 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: as well as an enormous impact if things don't go well. 166 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: So can you talk a bit about how you oversee 167 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:55,439 Speaker 1: that sort of process so the specific model V follow 168 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: starts with who is the end user of a specific 169 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: process or technology, So it all starts They're starting with 170 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:03,680 Speaker 1: the front line is essentially the first step we do. 171 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 1: We are a very agile technology group, so we are 172 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: big into trying to essentially synthesize the feedback we've gotten 173 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 1: from our teams and building our prototypes, building out scale 174 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,839 Speaker 1: down versions of what we plan to implement, and trying 175 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: it out. So every two weeks we would deploy specific 176 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 1: set of changes, get input from our frontline teams and 177 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:27,640 Speaker 1: see how it works. A lot of them hit the mark, 178 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:29,960 Speaker 1: but then there are other things which just don't hit 179 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,680 Speaker 1: the mark. But this agilely trader process lends itself to 180 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: one where we can learn quickly from our mistakes and 181 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:41,319 Speaker 1: pivot very quickly to meet exactly what the specific business needs, 182 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: whether it's for an employee or a customer. I imagine 183 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 1: you feel that that communication is a true key component 184 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,679 Speaker 1: to strategy if you want to get buy in across 185 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: the organization whenever you're developing any sort of solution. Absolutely. 186 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:57,840 Speaker 1: In fact, I think that might be one of the 187 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:00,839 Speaker 1: key elements of our secret sauce we need the input 188 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: from the front line to build a tool which actually 189 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: meets their needs but also solves the business problem in 190 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:09,280 Speaker 1: a clean and efficient manner. And going in with that 191 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: open mind and having that open conversation and learning from 192 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,200 Speaker 1: the front line teams has absolutely been a game changer 193 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,079 Speaker 1: for how we build our tools because the people we 194 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:21,840 Speaker 1: talked to then become champions, and they talked to their 195 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: counterparts who we didn't get a chance to talk to. 196 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:30,960 Speaker 1: Given that we are employee company, my hat is figuratively 197 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 1: and literally off to you for being part of that 198 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 1: sort of collaborative process. So it sounds to me like 199 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 1: Alaska Airlines has a very productive and positive culture. How 200 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: big a part does it play when you're looking at 201 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:50,199 Speaker 1: innovations and having it integrate with, say, legacy systems, How 202 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: do you ensure interoperability? That is definitely a tough one 203 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: because we are a ninety year old airline. We struggle 204 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,440 Speaker 1: with that every day on trying to take maybe the 205 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: best of what we can take from the past, which 206 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:07,320 Speaker 1: has actually helped us get here, while trying to build 207 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 1: something which is better and can support an airline which 208 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,560 Speaker 1: is rapidly growing. There have been specific cases where we 209 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:18,319 Speaker 1: have had to retire legacy processes because that just wouldn't 210 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,560 Speaker 1: scale in this current environment. There are specific things we 211 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: did really well as a smaller airline, and we do 212 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: the best to carry those forward as we are growing 213 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:30,720 Speaker 1: and recruiting more folks to join us and more new 214 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:33,679 Speaker 1: customers who fly us every day. But it's definitely one 215 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: of the tougher ones we wrestled with every day. Conventional 216 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: thinking says you have to pay more to get more. 217 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: I want the world, But Team Obile for Business uses 218 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 1: unconventional thinking to deliver premium benefits for better r o I. 219 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:52,600 Speaker 1: From customized five G solutions to three sixty support, we 220 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 1: help you reach your business goals right now, I want 221 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: it now. Innovating to improve business today and tomorrow. That 222 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: unconventional thinking from T Mobile for Business. Capable device required 223 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 1: covers not available in some areas, some require certain planter features, 224 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 1: mobile dot com. Well, let's get to some of those 225 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: exciting innovations. This is the sort of stuff that I 226 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: get up early and I start combing through announcements. So 227 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:26,840 Speaker 1: can you talk a little bit about the types of 228 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:32,199 Speaker 1: technologies that are being tested in the Alaska Airlines Tech Incubator. 229 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: So a big part of our innovation focuses on the 230 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:40,079 Speaker 1: customer experience as well as employee experience. When we look 231 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: at New York tech, we want to make sure that 232 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,959 Speaker 1: it fits not only our airline ecosystem, but actually can 233 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,040 Speaker 1: help make something better. One of those is biometrics, So 234 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: we absolutely I think biometrics is going to speed up 235 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 1: the process for folks who show up at the airport 236 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,319 Speaker 1: and can we get you from the lobby to your 237 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,320 Speaker 1: get in maybe twenty Why do you have to take 238 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: out your credit card or driver's license other ways we 239 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:08,480 Speaker 1: can eliminate all of that friction through the use of 240 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: biometric in very select areas to actually get you through 241 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:16,079 Speaker 1: the airport as quickly as possible while delivering a great experience. 242 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: The other part of which we are really looking to 243 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: double down on is five G and leveraging five G 244 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: two connect our employees and our guests. Because we want 245 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,560 Speaker 1: near real time information and to be able to move 246 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 1: a customer through a lobby to the gate as quickly 247 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:35,239 Speaker 1: as possible. It's going to require the best possible connectivity 248 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: for not only our employees but our guests. And how 249 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: can we leverage five G to actually move us through 250 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: all of these rapid decisions. Well, Vickorum, you've said one 251 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: of the phrases that lights me up because you've talked 252 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 1: about five G. So we have opened up that. Can 253 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: we're going to dive in a little further. Can you 254 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:58,960 Speaker 1: hypothetically walk me through what a five G implementation might 255 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 1: mean for a cust we're in the future if we're 256 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: talking about this incredible connectivity with very low latency. The 257 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:10,480 Speaker 1: entire experience of getting to your destination starts the minute 258 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: you wake up and you get your bags ready to 259 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 1: maybe call for an uber. So the minute you take 260 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: out your phone and figure out is my flight on time? 261 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: How does traffic look to get from your house or 262 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 1: your hotel to the airport? And of course, the things 263 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: most of our customers head is how long is my 264 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 1: T s A line going to be? Because the last 265 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 1: thing you want to do is to get stuck in 266 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: a long T s A line after having gotten to 267 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: the airport early enough. And the thing we have found 268 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 1: out through all of our customer research is the highest 269 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 1: level of stress the customer experiences is before they go 270 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 1: through security. How can we quickly essentially have them drop 271 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: their bags off and get through to T S A 272 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 1: So the key there is leveraging five G two actually 273 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: give them close to real time information on pointing them 274 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 1: to the quickert backdrop, the shortest ts A line, and 275 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: getting them past security. Once they passed security, they know 276 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,440 Speaker 1: it's a lot easier you stroll up to the gate, 277 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:12,720 Speaker 1: maybe spend some time in the Alaska lounge, and then 278 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: get to the gate and board when you want to 279 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: board and post t s A. The other aspect where 280 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,200 Speaker 1: connectivity plays a key role is we want to be 281 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 1: able to serve up specific experience. It's like you are 282 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 1: a frequent flyer and you typically land up picking up 283 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 1: a fruit and cheese platter at sea tack before you 284 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,640 Speaker 1: get on a plane. Could we maybe give you an 285 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:35,880 Speaker 1: offer to potentially send you to a line where you 286 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: can pick up something else to try, or offer you 287 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: something which is prepackaged at our lounge, or say, hey, 288 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 1: the lounge is pretty open today, would you like to 289 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: pop in and grab a drink? So leveraging connectivity to 290 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: share that information with our guests to help them navigate 291 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:54,960 Speaker 1: their way through the airport pretty quickly is one. The 292 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 1: flip side to all of this is the employees knowing 293 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:00,440 Speaker 1: that my lobby is going to get super busy because 294 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: the Uber line just went up with forty new cars, 295 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: and I'm seeing huge families who are off to the 296 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:10,560 Speaker 1: Hawaii trip with four bags each. So giving the same 297 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 1: information to our employees to meet the customers, to seamlessly 298 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:17,800 Speaker 1: get them through the lobby is the other aspect of 299 00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:20,440 Speaker 1: all of the connectivity which we have started to tap 300 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: into and leverage and see what we can unlock very quickly. 301 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:27,640 Speaker 1: Vicram I love this description because I have traveled quite 302 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: a bit myself and anything that does smooth out that 303 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:36,439 Speaker 1: process is more than welcome in my book. Having this 304 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:40,359 Speaker 1: capability on the back end to inform the customer and 305 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,920 Speaker 1: to keep them able to make these quick decisions or 306 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: or point them in the right direction. It's such a 307 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,199 Speaker 1: huge relief as a passenger to have that kind of 308 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 1: information at your fingertips, something that's only possible because we're 309 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,440 Speaker 1: now in this era where we can connect to a 310 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: fiber like connection, but it's wireless, and we have the 311 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: access point in our pocket with our smartphone. It's a 312 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 1: complete game changer. Do you see other ways where this 313 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 1: five G connectivity is going to be helping the operations side, 314 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,199 Speaker 1: so less on the passenger side, but more on the 315 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,639 Speaker 1: employee side perhaps when it comes to the actual aircraft 316 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,320 Speaker 1: and what's involved in preparing the aircraft for each and 317 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: every flight, like turnaround of the aircraft for example. So 318 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:29,800 Speaker 1: on the employee side, the one aspect which I did 319 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: not talk about was actually turning the aircraft, where five 320 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:36,200 Speaker 1: G absolutely plays an important role. You imagine a situation 321 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,400 Speaker 1: where you have an aircraft coming into a gate and 322 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: set of pilots and flight attendants who leave the aircraft 323 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:45,080 Speaker 1: to move on to do something else. You have a 324 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: brand new crew showing up, so you now have a 325 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: couple of new folks who have never really worked together 326 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: in the past, showing up at a gate. You have 327 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,879 Speaker 1: a customer service agent who is at the gate who's 328 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,439 Speaker 1: either giving out seat assignments, getting the last of the 329 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:02,439 Speaker 1: customer is ready to board. And then you have folks 330 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: below the plane who are in the process of loading 331 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: up your bags and cargo and everything else. And you 332 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:10,639 Speaker 1: also have our technicians who might have to do some 333 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:12,960 Speaker 1: last minute service checks on an aircraft. So you now 334 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:15,480 Speaker 1: have created a flash mob of folks who have come 335 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: together to try to get this aircraft back on time 336 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 1: as quickly as possible, and as an airline, we make 337 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 1: money when the planes are in the air, not on 338 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 1: the ground. We want to be able to get all 339 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,720 Speaker 1: these diverse group of folks who are now coming together 340 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:34,399 Speaker 1: to try to do their specific function, but also knowing 341 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 1: that the plane has to push back on time because 342 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: each of their functions are very interdependent and in the 343 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 1: past they would actually have to rely on either picking 344 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 1: up a phone or radio or walking down the jet bridge. 345 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,639 Speaker 1: Now all they do is they take out their iPad 346 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:55,240 Speaker 1: or their iPhone use their five G connection. And what 347 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 1: we have done is we have created this virtual huddle 348 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:01,680 Speaker 1: for everything the departure, so they come together for those 349 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:04,159 Speaker 1: forty minutes, they work together and they are on a 350 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,760 Speaker 1: life chat and they can basically troubleshoot real time to 351 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,119 Speaker 1: solve any problems they run into. And if they need 352 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,439 Speaker 1: to engage anybody outside of that huddle, they have the 353 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,160 Speaker 1: option of connecting back to our s o C, which 354 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 1: is our systems Operations Control and getting additional help as well. 355 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: But we basically created this virtual flash mob power through 356 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 1: five G, which has made a big impact on essentially 357 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: ensuring that we can turn our aircraft as quickly around 358 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,920 Speaker 1: as possible and continuing to be one of the most 359 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:34,399 Speaker 1: on time airlines in the country. I know that the 360 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,399 Speaker 1: on time departure metric is one of the most important 361 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: that we look at when we're looking at airlines, and 362 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: having that capability is phenomenal. I'm curious, are there any 363 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 1: systems in place where there are things that are an 364 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: automated notification, like when a plane is approaching the point 365 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:57,960 Speaker 1: where it might need maintenance or de icing these sorts 366 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:00,879 Speaker 1: of things, or is that still very largely a human 367 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: driven process where you know you're using technology in order 368 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 1: to communicate it and to address it. I was just 369 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,760 Speaker 1: curious where we are in technology along those lines. That's 370 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,360 Speaker 1: a great question. When we talk about a turn time, 371 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: we've broken down that entire forty minute, minute by minute 372 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: of everything which needs to happen, whether it's below the wing, 373 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: under the aircraft, stuff which needs to be fixed, or 374 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:26,400 Speaker 1: all the different functions which need to be performed. Specific 375 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 1: events here actually have triggers which actually ensure that we 376 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 1: can meet our timeline. So if let's say you needed 377 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,640 Speaker 1: a specific set of bags in thirty minutes before departure, 378 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 1: and let's say we missed that window, you know automatically 379 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,800 Speaker 1: triggers and alert saying hey, we're running behind and this 380 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:46,440 Speaker 1: is what's happening. Or our pilots are in the flight 381 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: deck performing their final safety checks and they're like, hey, 382 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,400 Speaker 1: I've uncovered something I need fixed in the next twenty minutes, 383 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: so I can still make it on time. So it's 384 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,680 Speaker 1: a combination of manual and automated, and in an ideal state, 385 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,960 Speaker 1: as we leverage more five G and connectivity, we would 386 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:02,439 Speaker 1: be in a place to automate a lot more, but 387 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,880 Speaker 1: we are quite not there yet. I wanted to talk 388 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:10,480 Speaker 1: about another technology, multi access edge computing, and I wanted 389 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:12,520 Speaker 1: to hear a little bit more about that and sort 390 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,000 Speaker 1: of the opportunities it opens up in Alaska airlines. So 391 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:19,639 Speaker 1: I think a lot of this goes back to we 392 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: want decision making to be as close to real time 393 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:25,680 Speaker 1: as possible, and I think the part where multi edge 394 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: computing actually gives us a big advantages we can actually 395 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:34,120 Speaker 1: push it out to our edge devices and not always 396 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,200 Speaker 1: having to rely going back to the cloud or a 397 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,639 Speaker 1: data center to get specific pieces of information. This is 398 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,440 Speaker 1: one where we're still in our early phases where we're 399 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 1: starting to build in more decision making with our airport tools. 400 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,119 Speaker 1: When you have a technician trying to work on fixing 401 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: a specific aircraft defect or trying to replace apart, we 402 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,960 Speaker 1: need information at the tip of their fingers through something 403 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,879 Speaker 1: like augmented reality, where you've actually in running some tests 404 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: on and pushing that information out to the edge where 405 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: they can quickly make a decision and and move forward, 406 00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 1: versus always having to rely on information going back to 407 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,440 Speaker 1: the cloud or data centers. So it's definitely an area 408 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:15,400 Speaker 1: where if you're doing a couple of proof of concepts 409 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,439 Speaker 1: and we are very excited about the possibilities there. Well, 410 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: you've mentioned argumented reality. I was also curious if Alaska 411 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:25,119 Speaker 1: Airlines has been using mixed reality it's such as like 412 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:29,960 Speaker 1: virtual reality in the process of training pilots, for example. 413 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:33,560 Speaker 1: Is that something that the company has looked into, Not 414 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,920 Speaker 1: the pilots, but we've definitely looked at trying to leverage 415 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: virtual reality for training some of our customer service agents, 416 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 1: because this is a scenario where we have folks who 417 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:46,679 Speaker 1: have either performed a similar customer service function, maybe in 418 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,359 Speaker 1: retail or maybe in a different industry, but might not 419 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,960 Speaker 1: exactly translate into a setting of a gate where you're 420 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: trying to board a flight. You have lots of customers 421 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 1: trying to get into an aircraft in a very short 422 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,920 Speaker 1: period of time. Other things we can do to actually 423 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: simulate what a gate environment would look like through a 424 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,080 Speaker 1: virtual reality where they actually before they essentially work their 425 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 1: first flight, they have the option of experiencing what it 426 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: looks like when you have a gate area packed with 427 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 1: people and maybe an aircraft running five minutes late, or 428 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,840 Speaker 1: maybe there's a snowstorm in Seattle, and how does all 429 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,879 Speaker 1: of this happen? And as a customer service agent who's 430 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,800 Speaker 1: probably going to experience at the first time on the job, 431 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: you're trying to prep them better by giving them a 432 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:33,800 Speaker 1: situation through virtual reality where we throw specific cases at 433 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 1: them to say this is what happens where you have 434 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,360 Speaker 1: an overbooked flight and you're trying to get somebody on, 435 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 1: or you are now trying to announce that your flight 436 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: is going to be twenty minutes late because it needs 437 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 1: to be deized. So that's another area we've definitely looked 438 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,639 Speaker 1: at so that we can enhance the experience and essentially 439 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:55,000 Speaker 1: equip our frontline teams better when they actually do their jobs. 440 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,919 Speaker 1: That's fascinating. You know, Vicram years ago I talked about 441 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:03,199 Speaker 1: how Psycholo just we're using virtual reality in order to 442 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,400 Speaker 1: do a type of immersion therapy for people who had 443 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:10,160 Speaker 1: certain phobias and being able to introduce them into an 444 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 1: experience that was traumatic for them, but they would know 445 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 1: ultimately that they were safe, and yet their body would 446 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: still go through the physical reactions they would have if 447 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,680 Speaker 1: they were put in that real situation. I think it's 448 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:25,720 Speaker 1: a brilliant use of the technology. Yeah. Absolutely, And this 449 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:28,560 Speaker 1: is the other one where we can engage a frontline 450 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: teams to get feedback on how we can make this better, 451 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: because we want that experience as they go through the 452 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,360 Speaker 1: training to be as realistic as possible, and virtual reality 453 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:40,960 Speaker 1: has actually been a good one for us to really 454 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 1: look at and and start to help our customer service 455 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 1: agents build up muscle and be able to deliver that experience. 456 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,359 Speaker 1: So definitely an area of where we're looking to do 457 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:54,200 Speaker 1: a lot more in wonderful well as we look ahead, 458 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,679 Speaker 1: what plans or initiatives does Alaska have to impact or 459 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 1: improve the airline industry, especially as we look towards this 460 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:07,480 Speaker 1: ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral by twy so Alaska officially, 461 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: we have declared publicly that we do plan to be 462 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:14,959 Speaker 1: completely carbon neutral by so the one thing we've started 463 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,040 Speaker 1: to do quite a bit, and the first step in 464 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,040 Speaker 1: our process was looking to see how can we efficiently 465 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:24,159 Speaker 1: get from point A to point B by leveraging technology 466 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 1: to actually fly not just faster, but actually fly more 467 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:30,920 Speaker 1: fuel efficiently, because in the past it was all about 468 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 1: how quickly can we go from point A to point 469 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 1: B and fuel wasn't really considered. We implemented this tool 470 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,560 Speaker 1: called flyways a couple of years ago, and what it 471 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:41,240 Speaker 1: does is it looks through a specific route, let's say 472 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:44,680 Speaker 1: Seattle to JFK. And in the past it would look 473 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:48,240 Speaker 1: for specific way points and an efficient route to get 474 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,000 Speaker 1: to you there, but fuel was essentially a byproduct of 475 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:52,800 Speaker 1: the type of plane you flew and all of that. 476 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: What flyways does is it actually does that real time, 477 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,400 Speaker 1: so it actually looks through the entire route we fly 478 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:03,720 Speaker 1: and optimizes from a fuel perspective to actually have the 479 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 1: lowest fuel burne possible. And it not only does it 480 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:09,720 Speaker 1: before the plane takes off, it actually does it real 481 00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:12,879 Speaker 1: time as the aircraft flies through. So any time you 482 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,199 Speaker 1: encounter weather, which is now going to cause a change. 483 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:20,119 Speaker 1: It computes based on fuel efficiency to find the most 484 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,280 Speaker 1: fuel optimal route. The other aspect of what we're doing 485 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:27,240 Speaker 1: is looking to see all the specific areas where we 486 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:32,240 Speaker 1: are essentially putting more carbon into the environment. Sustainable aviation 487 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,439 Speaker 1: fuel is a big part of that. So it's a 488 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:36,879 Speaker 1: very small part of our fuel supply right now, but 489 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,199 Speaker 1: s A F as it's called, is predominantly in up 490 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,000 Speaker 1: and on the West Coast, where we do have suppliers 491 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: who provide that is a completely carbon neutral fuel, so 492 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:48,600 Speaker 1: this doesn't add any net new carbon into the environment, 493 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,560 Speaker 1: and that is one where we've been partnering not only 494 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,640 Speaker 1: with the federal government but also smaller suppliers who are 495 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 1: hopefully will be able to scale up their supply over 496 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:59,440 Speaker 1: the next few years to essentially provide us hundred percent 497 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:01,399 Speaker 1: of a fuel. It would make a big step in 498 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:04,400 Speaker 1: us helping get to carbon neutral. So that's what we're 499 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,760 Speaker 1: doing on the air. On the ground, we're looking at 500 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:10,359 Speaker 1: the same thing of potentially swapping out our vehicles which 501 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 1: burn gas to electric as well as automating other processes 502 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:17,120 Speaker 1: which we can to start to rely less and less 503 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:20,080 Speaker 1: on fuel. We're also looking at all electric aircraft for 504 00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:23,960 Speaker 1: the smaller stage distances. So this is not the Seattle's 505 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,159 Speaker 1: to JFK. This might be the Seattle to Portland or 506 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,239 Speaker 1: Seattle to San Francisco. And there are specific startups who 507 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,240 Speaker 1: are actively looking at electric aircraft and trying to partner 508 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:35,159 Speaker 1: and understand how quickly that technology can be brought to 509 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 1: market and commercialize so we can actually either retrofit or 510 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: existing planes or swap out our fleet for something more 511 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 1: electric for especially the shorter stage links. Wow, that's phenomenal. 512 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 1: Before it was time to say goodbye, I had to 513 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:58,760 Speaker 1: ask Vicram one more thing, what do you believe is 514 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:04,720 Speaker 1: the most misunder stood technology? I think I'm going to 515 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 1: go with a more general answer. In the past, I've 516 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: had business partners are folks I get to work with 517 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,880 Speaker 1: expecting technology to be the silver bullet. They think you 518 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,680 Speaker 1: implement a technology and all your problems go away, and 519 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,160 Speaker 1: I think it's a recipe for disaster. I think it 520 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 1: always starts with understanding the business problem, building a robust 521 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:29,760 Speaker 1: process to solve for that particular problem, and then figuring 522 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 1: out how technology can either automated your entire process or 523 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,480 Speaker 1: alive it your ability to get there and I've seen 524 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 1: it flipped on the side of Hey, I found this 525 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:43,600 Speaker 1: school technology and I want implemented, and all my problems 526 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:46,959 Speaker 1: are going to go away, and that has led to 527 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,120 Speaker 1: nothing but failure on top of failure. So I do 528 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,560 Speaker 1: think people who aren't as closer technology look at it 529 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,160 Speaker 1: as technology is going to solve all my problems and 530 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 1: it's not. It's a good answer, Vicrium, thank you so 531 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,240 Speaker 1: much joining us on the show today. It has been 532 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 1: a real pleasure. Yeah, thank you Jonathan for having me. 533 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:13,160 Speaker 1: It was great chatting with you. I feel like the 534 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:16,720 Speaker 1: airline industry is one where it's really easy to see 535 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:20,160 Speaker 1: when solutions are working. We experience it ourselves as we 536 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 1: navigate airports, find our way to our gate, board a flight, 537 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:27,280 Speaker 1: and try to track down our luggage. I'm sure we 538 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 1: all have experiences that were hectic and stressful. I feel 539 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:35,280 Speaker 1: like the solutions Victram was talking about using a combination 540 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:39,840 Speaker 1: of employee interactions with passengers and automated systems transmitted through 541 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,959 Speaker 1: five G connectivity, those are all ones that are going 542 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 1: to have a noticeable impact on how we experienced travel. 543 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:49,760 Speaker 1: There's a huge ripple effect to passengers will have a 544 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:53,840 Speaker 1: more pleasant experience when they travel. That will build customer loyalty, 545 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 1: Alaska Airline staff will be able to meet customer needs 546 00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 1: more efficiently, and operations that weren't really possible before or 547 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:04,360 Speaker 1: five G rollout will help reduce choke points. And the 548 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:07,320 Speaker 1: thought of a future in which electric aircraft may be 549 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,479 Speaker 1: used for short flights is a really intriguing one. I 550 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:14,240 Speaker 1: definitely hope that works out. On a personal note, I've 551 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 1: already seen the benefits of incorporating wireless technology with the 552 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:21,160 Speaker 1: airport experience. Being able to keep track of a flight status, 553 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 1: including whether it's at the gate that's printed on your 554 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 1: boarding pass or maybe somewhere else, that's enormously helpful. I 555 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:31,720 Speaker 1: can't wait to see the next steps in that evolutionary path, 556 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,680 Speaker 1: and five G is really what makes that possible. With 557 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,959 Speaker 1: its low latency and high throughput. I can only imagine 558 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:41,040 Speaker 1: the kind of passenger experience I will have in just 559 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: a couple of years. Thanks again to vicram Buskerun for 560 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:50,160 Speaker 1: joining our show. Make sure you check back for our 561 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: future episodes, in which I'll speak with more tech leaders 562 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:56,200 Speaker 1: to find out how they approach leadership and leverage technology 563 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 1: to meet company goals. I'll see you then, t Mobile 564 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:08,480 Speaker 1: for Business knows companies want more than a one size 565 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:11,960 Speaker 1: fits all approach to support. I want the world, so 566 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,680 Speaker 1: we provide three sixty support customized to your business. From 567 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 1: discovery through post deployment. You'll get a dedicated account team 568 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:24,160 Speaker 1: and expertise from solutions engineers and industry advisors already right now, 569 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: I want it now. Three sixty support that's customized for 570 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:34,040 Speaker 1: your success. That's unconventional thinking from T Mobile for Business.