SITA acquires Big Blue Analytics to manage airline disruption

Up to 30% cost savings

SITA has bought Big Blue Analytics, developer of OCC Assistant Manager (OCCam), an AI-enabled disruption optimisation platform proven in live airline operations. The aim is to roll out the solution worldwide and make it the first building block of a more unified operations control centre. According to the company, OCCam evaluates aircraft, crew, passenger itineraries and maintenance constraints together and, within minutes, produces a single, coherent recovery plan. SITA also says airlines already using the platform have cut disruption costs by up to 30%.

The platform pushes back against the still-common sequential logic in many control centres, where aircraft, then crew, then passengers are handled in turn. Instead, OCCam delivers ranked, feasible recovery scenarios with a simultaneous view of cost, on-time performance, passenger impact and compliance. The tool also tracks decisions so carriers can quantify savings, benchmark operational performance and document return on investment from day one. SITA, meanwhile, situates the system within a broader AI roadmap that includes large language models and multi-agent systems to predict disruption earlier and automate parts of recovery.

Tens of millions of dollars in savings

According to SITA, disruption remains one of aviation’s heaviest costs, amounting to tens of billions of dollars globally. The release estimates that for a mid-sized carrier operating just over 100 aircraft, where disruption can cost between US$70 million and US$80 million, a 25–30% reduction would equate to US$20 million to US$25 million in savings.

“Airlines have traditionally treated disruption as a fixed cost of doing business, but there is a clear opportunity to approach it differently. In an increasingly volatile and fast-moving environment, the ability to recover with the same agility becomes critical. The airlines that act on this first will recover faster, fly more, and protect more revenue than those that wait, and AI-enabled tools like OCCam are making that possible,” said David Lavorel, CEO of SITA.

The initial beneficiaries are airline operations teams, and, indirectly, the carriers that want to limit the financial and operational impact of irregularities. With the acquisition, SITA adds a real-time optimisation layer to its portfolio and strengthens its position in decision-support systems for aviation.