Moving a major airline from project-based delivery to a product operating model is one of the harder transformations in enterprise technology. We have done it — and the airline did not stop flying while it changed how it works.
Airlines occupy a unique position in enterprise technology transformation. The operational constraints are unforgiving — revenue systems cannot go offline, safety-critical processes cannot be disrupted, and regulatory complexity (EASA, CAA, GDPR, consumer protection) sits permanently in the background. At the same time, the pressure to modernise is acute: low-cost carriers operate on marginal cost structures where inefficient technology governance directly erodes competitive position.
The most common failure mode we see in airline technology transformation is the attempt to reorganise how technology is funded and governed without changing the underlying processes. A product operating model on paper, with project budgets and six-week Capex approval cycles underneath it, is not a product operating model. It is performance art.
Our flagship engagement redesigned the technology operating model of a major European low-cost carrier across four simultaneous workstreams — funding model, demand management, OKR architecture, and board analytics — while the airline continued normal operations. Demand approval cycle time fell from six weeks to five days. Board-level OKR reporting now runs with zero manual aggregation.
40% reduction in demand approval cycle time. Zero manual OKR aggregation at board level. Four simultaneous workstreams delivered without disrupting live airline operations. The organisation inherited a running system — not a document.
EASA · CAA · GDPR · Consumer Duty · Capex/Opex governance · IFRS compliance
Operating Model & Governance Design
Agile Transformation & PMO Setup
Enterprise SaaS & ERP Transformation
Read the complete account of the airline product operating model redesign — four workstreams, a 40% improvement in demand approval time, and zero manual OKR aggregation at board level.
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