The software is a communication tool that helps the Revenue Optimization and the Management System  (Pros) identify and update changed flights on the reservation system (Saber Reservation) promptly. In order to operate accurately and effectively, the software also connects to a third system, the SitaText operational mail service.

“Every day, VNA operates hundreds of flights, with many different classes of seats, corresponding to different prices. Due to various reasons, more than 300 flights per day experience changes or adjustments to flight schedules. Our job is to update future changes in flight schedules to support the sales service, thereby updating the exact number of available seats for sale on each flight to maximize revenue for the Corporation,” he explained.

According to Mr. Long, the Pros system previously updated all changes in flight schedules once daily. However, the need to update changes more frequently to facilitate ticket sales has been considered for a long time but never implemented. Recently, management requested making this a top priority, and therefore, Mr. Long has been working since late 2018. “My team has three people, all of whom are very busy. I can only spend time researching and developing this software after work or during the weekends. My other colleagues can only support me in spirit,” he smiled and recounted.

As Mr. Long described, the software operates in a way that allows it to automatically read the telegraph about flight schedule changes, enter such changes into the Pros system, then update it to the Saber system to reopen ticket sales. The more frequent the update is, the more efficient the sales become. At the moment, the system is being automatically updated every two hours.

“After three months of testing, all the technical errors were fixed,” he said. “For example, the telegraph format of the OCC or the Planning and Development Department was not consistent, so we had to alter the format to make it easy for the system to be updated.“

It is little known that this tech-savvy officer had a background in Business Administration and graduated from the University of Commerce. However, he shared that he pursued his passion for technology and programming since his years in university. Becoming a member of the VNA family since 1997, obtained his Master’s degree in IT through self-teaching.

“When I was a student, I used to sign up for evening classes at the computer training centers. Then, when I started working, I enrolled in the IT program at Hanoi Open University. After graduating from this major, I applied for a master’s program at the National University,” he recalled.

Mr. Tran Dai Long, the creator of the software that facilitates the reopening of sales for same-day flights undergoing schedule changes. (Photo: Provided by staff).

Passionate about programming, Mr. Long is elated to see that the products of he and his colleagues are effectively helping VNA to reduce human resources, providing accurate results, and improving economic efficiency.

Upon sharing a noteworthy memory about the development of this new software, he mentioned a time when the system experienced an installation error in May 2019. “At that time, the security warning system announced that the Access application in Microsoft Office had not been updated, preventing the system from running. We and AITS struggled to reinstall Office immediately, but it did not work out. It cost us an entire day. Fortunately, the next morning, we were able to install the application. Since then, we have not experienced any other incidents.”

With his love for programming, Mr. Long developed a number of initiatives and highly effective applications, such as payroll software for the Marketing and Sales Department, and software that automatically reads telegraphs about flight schedule changes to push onto Saber.

Mr. Long shared that, currently, the software that reopens the sales of same-day flights for those having schedule changes is being applied only to one-way flights, on both domestic and international routes. “Of course, the sale efficiency comes from a lot of different contributors. However, management assessed that this optimization software would benefit VNA by roughly USD 250,000 per year, and I am very happy about that.”

He plans to continue to upgrade the software so that it can handle multi-trip flights and improve the reporting function.

The Research Centre is preparing the documents so that the Initiative Council recognizes the invention by Mr. Long, and then presents it to the CEO for corporate-level recognition.

Collaborator Tien Long