Technology Makes the Airline World Go Round: Celebrating the People Behind-the-Scenes

Imagine an airline employee. You are probably picturing a Captain sporting some aviators or a friendly Flight Attendant. Typically, you don’t think of all the people behind-the-scenes in various departments who contribute to a smooth operation like Information Technology. This team plays an important role at Air Wisconsin. There’s no question that technology has immeasurably changed our daily lives and enhances the way we work by solving problems and making tasks more efficient.

Some tasks seem simple, but have a far reaching impact. Air Wisconsin’s Network team blocks about 33,000 spams emails from reaching employees every single day. In 2019, our Help Desk created over 2,300 tickets to help solve over 2,300 problems.

Whether it be for Finance, Human Resources, Benefits, or another department, I.T. supports applications and programs employees use daily—that’s over 100 different products company-wide. Plus, you’ve got all the hardware like computers, fax machines, phones, etc. Technology also specifically impacts our crewmembers in numerous ways.

If you ever think about flying for Air Wisconsin, H.A.W.K. will likely be the first piece of software you see. H.A.W.K. or Hiring Aviators With Knowledge is a custom application created by members of our software development team to help make the pilot recruiting process better. This iPad friendly app makes it easy to gather information about interested candidates at events and follow their progress through the entire recruiting process. Our recruiters don’t miss the days of having to keep track of hundreds of tiny paper forms.

Every Air Wisconsin pilot is given an iPad during training that they continue to use on the line instead of carrying around bulky paper charts. I.T. offers around the clock support 365 days a year to ensure the Flight team has the tools they need to keep our operation running smoothly and safely.

Flight Operations and I.T. created and support custom ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) functions. Pilots use ACARS to send short messages between the aircraft and SOC or ground stations. The addition of these custom functions let Air Wisconsin automatically capture and report data to help make smarter, more efficient choices. Plus, I.T. oversees a suite of products to manage crew planning and flight tracking as well as the integration process with United’s I.T. systems.

Our crewmembers also regularly use an application called Crew Self Service or CSS. Flight Attendants and pilots can easily check their schedule, get flight details and hotel information using our mobile friendly app. Plus, CSS allows messages to be sent to all crewmembers at once.

Beyond that, some members of our Information Technology team are focused on process improvements, strategic planning, or helping other departments find the technology solutions that best meet their needs. I.T. professionals may not immediately come to mind when you think of airline employees, but they contribute to our airline’s success every day.

Explore all of our career opportunities or learn more about us at www.airwis.com.