Southwest Airlines: "Upgrade Your Software": It's been called the largest meltdown in aviation history. The software that Southwest uses dates back to the 1990s, and it's not up to...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It's been called the largest meltdown in aviation history. The software that Southwest uses dates back to the 1990s, and it's not up to the task of scheduling thousands of flights and thousands of employees. They saved a fortune by not upgrading their software, but at what cost?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghEFf2CQypc

The same thing applies to people like us. We might think our 1990 software is just fine, but as computers change and our workload changes, upgrading our software might be appropriate.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

jerryc41 wrote:

It's been called the largest meltdown in aviation ... (show quote)

When it is, I do....
If not necessary, I don't.

e.g. Quicken 2007..... WS-FTP95...

BebuLamar

Longshadow wrote:

When it is, I do....
If not necessary, I don't.

e.g. Quicken 2007..... WS-FTP95...

Yes when your need changes and you need more than the old computer or software can handle then you need to upgrade like in the case of Southwest.
If your need is the same, using same old stuff you are not into any surprises. Even if the software has bugs you know what to do. Many business running into problems because they upgrade the software.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

BebuLamar wrote:

Yes when your need changes and you need more than the old computer or software can handle then you need to upgrade like in the case of Southwest.
If your need is the same, using same old stuff you are not into any surprises. Even if the software has bugs you know what to do. Many business running into problems because they upgrade the software.

Different people wrote the original and the update.
Not everyone thinks the same, so some hiccups could be included in the "update".
(Insufficient foresight?)

BebuLamar

Longshadow wrote:

Different people wrote the original and the update.
Not everyone thinks the same, so some hiccups could be included in the "update".
(Insufficient foresight?)

As people we always make mistakes here and there. It takes time to find and fix the mistakes. My friend he used to work for AT&T Bell Lab said that he made more money than other programmers because he was the tester. He said Testers are paid more because it's more difficult to find mistakes than write programs.

MrBossHK Loc: The West Valley of Phoenix metro area

There is much more to the Southwest meltdown than just inadequate scheduling software. There was a sporadic "job action" that seems to have originated in Denver and quickly snowballed (no pun intended) the cancellations and, if lucky, delayed flights. The entire mess can be traced back to a severe disconnect between frontline operations losing corporate focus to the bean counters, destroying the morale and loyalty of perhaps one of the most dedicated and talented team of employees any business has ever assembled. There are many "insider" accounts of this horrible situation, especially on YouTube from extremely knowledgeable sources. After viewing the videos, be sure to read the comments for a wealth of additional information.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

BebuLamar wrote:

As people we always make mistakes here and there. It takes time to find and fix the mistakes. My friend he used to work for AT&T Bell Lab said that he made more money than other programmers because he was the tester. He said Testers are paid more because it's more difficult to find mistakes than write programs.

Yup. Developers sometimes have tunnel vision and don't think of people doing a certain sequence.
("Why would they do that, it's not logical.)

My biggest gotcha was people using dBase for DOS in Windows and cut-n-pasting comments in memo fields.
DOS dBase didn't handle that at all, and when they typed CTL-V to paste, the CTL-V character was placed in the memo field, making that record the "last record" in the database when they saved the change.
It took a while to figure that one out!!!

pendennis

jerryc41 wrote:

It's been called the largest meltdown in aviation ... (show quote)

Badly outdated software wasn't/isn't the only issue.

Southwest, as opposed to other carriers, doesn't operate from a hub in the same manner (even though based in Midway (Chicago) and Denver (Denver Intl) as United (O'hare), Delta (Atlanta), American (Dallas), etc. They can all "get home" much easier in case of problems.

Someone on Fox Business showed the thinness of the "spokes" for Southwest, and it's a very fragile system.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

pendennis wrote:

Badly outdated software wasn't/isn't the only issue.

Southwest, as opposed to other carriers, doesn't operate from a hub in the same manner (even though based in Midway (Chicago) and Denver (Denver Intl) as United (O'hare), Delta (Atlanta), American (Dallas), etc. They can all "get home" much easier in case of problems.

Someone on Fox Business showed the thinness of the "spokes" for Southwest, and it's a very fragile system.

And they don't have an arrangement with other airlines to use their hubs.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

They have convenient flights, but I’ve personally had too many SW flights cancelled over the years, so I wouldn’t fly them anymore, especially after this debacle.

Actually, one of the best benefits of being retired is not having to deal with unpleasant experience air travel has become. Even if you’re an experienced traveler and know all the tricks, it’s still a Royal PIA. I would like to get back to Europe one more time, but lacking that, if I never get on another commercial flight, it will be too soon for me.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

BebuLamar wrote:

As people we always make mistakes here and there. It takes time to find and fix the mistakes. My friend he used to work for AT&T Bell Lab said that he made more money than other programmers because he was the tester. He said Testers are paid more because it's more difficult to find mistakes than write programs.

My daughters job was to make the software screw up, the hard part was keeping track of and in the order of what she did.

Red6

TriX wrote:

They have convenient flights, but I’ve personally ... (show quote)

Not sure driving is any better. We traveled on I-75 last week from Tennessee to Florida and were bumper-to-bumper most of the way. Some of the most miserable driving I have ever experienced.

At one point it took us nearly 3 hours to travel around 65 miles. Luckily, we had planned to stop halfway and spend the night. But an easy 6-hour drive turned into 9 hours of torture.

Also, after arriving back here in Florida, it feels and looks like half the country has moved here since we left in early DEC.. Traffic here is worse than ever. Roads are backed up everywhere.

Bill_R Loc: Southeastern Wisconsin

TriX wrote:

They have convenient flights, but I’ve personally ... (show quote)

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Manglesphoto wrote:

My daughters job was to make the software screw up, the hard part was keeping track of and in the order of what she did.

For me, that job would be a natural!

One thing I learned about solving problems with any kind of equipment: make one change at a time. If I make three changes, and the device works, I'll never know what solved the problem.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Red6 wrote:

Not sure driving is any better. We traveled on I-... (show quote)

Yes, traffic is much worse everywhere, it seems. And it's a fact that driving has gotten worse since the pandemic began. Fast and rude.