At Aerospace Tech Week, Oğuzhan Doğan Albayrak, Performance Analysis and Reporting Senior Specialist, SunExpress discussed how the airline is using smart solutions to support its growth.
Albayrak discussed SunExpress’ plans to expand from 65 to 166 aircraft over the next ten years, describing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as essential tools for the scaling up of operations.
During the conversation, Albayrak also shared the tangible benefits of transitioning to an (Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC) noting that it improved on-time performance by 6 per cent in 2023. The Operations Control Centre (OCC) is the “mission control centre” of an airline, controlling and overseeing crucial activities. By moving to an IOCC, a more seamless flow of information can be achieved, enabling challenges to be addressed more efficiently and effectively.
Albayrak additionally noted that this model helped manage the airline’s operations during the 2023 earthquake in Turkey which involved over 200 rescue flights.
“As you may know, we had an earthquake in Turkey in 2023. 11 cities were impacted and we had more more than 200 rescue flights. Can you imagine the stress that we faced during that? But [because of our] IOCC, we could manage it in the proper way.”
For more insight including the key challenges with integrating AI and ML solutions, watch the full interview below. To learn more about SunExpress’ transition to IOCC watch this brief interview with its former Head of IOCC.
Questions asked include:
- Can you provide a few specific examples of how the transition to IOCC has transformed operations at SunExpress?
- What are some of the challenges you anticipate with integrating AI and ML solutions into your operations and how are you planning to address these?
- How does the transition to IOCC help to lay the foundations for future developments within your airline? What opportunities does it open up that would otherwise have been closed off?
For more from onsite at Aerospace Tech Week see: