Originally Posted by
Gertrude the Wombat
I've never really understood this IT-reporting-to-CFO thing, certainly not this century.
And even less so in the case of an airline, where the business is a seat pricing algorithm and the IT system that supports it.
(Actually running the aeroplanes is optional, you can subcontract, or rent them in, after all.)
Simply put, IT is viewed by commercial industry as a commodity (except by critical infrastructure, hospitals and the like) which costs money and is a drag on the bottom line. This isn't a new view either. In its infancy, it was viewed as an enabler - something that could make existing staff more efficient. That quickly translated into - Hmm, if they are more efficient, maybe I need less employees.
Despite the dependence upon IT for flight, airlines have adopted executive bonus structures based on pre-tax income and cost savings rather than on-time performance, baggage issues, and consumer complaints. Was UAL really hurt by the punching bag incident? Probably not in the long run because SLF are a commodity also. Will BA be hurt with this disruption? Again, probably not just as Delta, Southwest, UAL (twice), et. al. haven't been hurt by IT outages even if the hit costs $100M short term. Not likely to see a resurgence of ocean liners take their place. Oh, customer service? Another cost that can be cut. Out-sourcing crews? Yup - any cost is on the table if it can be cut.