Lufthansa Systems announced that Eurowings is the launching customer for the cutting-edge AI-powered operations control assistant NetLine/Ops ++ aiOCC. The web-based AI assistant supports airline operations controllers in increasing the stability and efficiency of daily operations. Both companies worked closely together on this project. The smart assistant, which is integrated into NetLine/Ops ++, the next-generation operations control system from Lufthansa Systems, has been in use at the Eurowings operations control center (OCC) in Cologne since 2023.
Operations controllers make numerous complex decisions every day. They react to unforeseen events like weather or strikes to minimize their impact, as such disruptions can cause high costs for the airline. The operations controller has to analyze several information sources within minutes to find the best solution. That becomes more challenging, especially during peak times with a high risk of disruption when humans are reaching their limits.
NetLine/Ops ++ aiOCC analyzes historical data and monitors all events around aircraft, rotation, passengers, and crews simultaneously to identify delay risks ahead of time. Then, it generates concrete recommendations on improving operations in real time, which is critical in this working environment. To enable the user to make an informed decision, the system provides additional information regarding the impact of the proposed solution on the overall resilience, the buffer, and the propagated delay. The smart assistant focuses on recommendations, the decision always remains with the operations controller.
Even if no delay is visible yet, the system can already suggest an improvement. The agent offers the greatest potential in the morning, as there is significantly more room for action. For example, the agent suggests swapping legs EW9212 and EW9213 of AC EXS for legs EW9442 and EW9443 of AC EXW, which will decrease the propagated delay by 20 minutes. This improves overall punctuality and provides more buffer time to further stabilize the schedule. The controller checks this suggestion, implements it, or rejects it with good reason. All user feedback is evaluated in the background to improve the AI agent continuously.
“We are so pleased that Eurowings has been involved in this project from the very beginning. The professional input of their ops controllers was crucial for developing the smart assistant. We see a huge potential to reduce irregularity costs when implementing our smart assistant in the OCC. AI and the strengths of humans with their experience and creativity should complement each other to improve operations stability,” said Jan-Peter Gaense, Head of NetLine at Lufthansa Systems.
