So who did BA outsource their IT to?

[MrMarkyMark]

I think TCS are doing OK, only 3 major similar cluster fecks since last July

[Andy2]

Do these outsourcing companies have to pay any compensation for their clusterfecks
or is it business as usual till the next catastrophe ?

[chopper]

Do these outsourcing companies have to pay any compensation for their clusterfecks
or is it business as usual till the next catastrophe ?

They get to charge extra!

[original PM]

But arent flights under air traffic control/airport control for take off/landing etc.

I thought this would just affect bookings.....

[Bee]

[Mordac]

But arent flights under air traffic control/airport control for take off/landing etc.

I thought this would just affect bookings.....

It affects all API data, and they can't take off without that. It also affects filing of flight plans, passenger routings, the list goes on.
The other airlines competing on BA routes must be feeling pretty smug right now, their passenger numbers are going to rise. The hidden costs of offshoring on the cheap are usually far greater than could ever be imagined.

[original PM]

It affects all API data, and they can't take off without that. It also affects filing of flight plans, passenger routings, the list goes on.
The other airlines competing on BA routes must be feeling pretty smug right now, their passenger numbers are going to rise. The hidden costs of offshoring on the cheap are usually far greater than could ever be imagined.

Ba fly out of more than just london though?

[Mrlizard]

They get to charge extra!

I have worked alongside TCS and that is exactly what they do. Never mind charging you extra to fix it, you have to supply lots of your own staff to support them at your own cost.
Any company that outsources to them gets what they deserve. It's a false economy. Looks cheap on paper but you end up hiring 2 or 3 times as many employees to do the same work and all projects are full of mistakes causing extra burden on internal staff. Ask them if they have completed a task, and they often lie to save their face and you end up going behind their back, constantly checking up on them. They send candidates straight out of uni who claim to be experts and they can't keep hold of their staff so you are constantly training new TCS candidates.
Anyway. I hope the media don't let them get away with a power outage blame. Any good IT company has a DR process to get out of this and it should take less than a day to recover even when a lot of it is done manually.

[Mordac]

Ba fly out of more than just london though?

Yes, but think about it, they will have very few flights from those other airports, so they can fill out this stuff manually. BA ops at LHR and LGW are completely computerised - if you have checked in online, and don't have hold baggage, you never need to speak to BA staff until you reach the gate, and they have invested millions automating everything. They simply don't have the staff to do any of this manually if the systems go down, and you've seen the result.

[original PM]

Yes, but think about it, they will have very few flights from those other airports, so they can fill out this stuff manually. BA ops at LHR and LGW are completely computerised - if you have checked in online, and don't have hold baggage, you never need to speak to BA staff until you reach the gate, and they have invested millions automating everything. They simply don't have the staff to do any of this manually if the systems go down, and you've seen the result.

Oh ok