CAE Flight Operations: Driving Airline Digital Transformation

Aviation Week Network hosted a conversation with Harsha Majeti at CAE, Inc., a leading technology company that digitalizes the physical world, deploying software based simulation training and critical operations support solutions. CAE has recently established its Flight Operations Solutions division, expanding its reach into real-time airline operations.

Harsha Majeti
Vice President & General Manager, Product Management at CAE, Inc.   

Q Why did CAE decide to enter the flight operations space?

A Harsha Majeti: CAE has always had a forward-looking vision, and during COVID, the board and leadership team viewed expanding to adjacencies such as software platforms, especially cloud SaaS offerings, as a mechanism for future growth. As one of our leaders said to me, “CAE knows how to fly a plane, and a flight operations team knows how to run an airline.” Those are two distinct things, but both help commercial aviation use their resources optimally to deliver the best experience and profitability for carriers. By creating CAE Flight Operations Solutions, we can take what we do best, delivering a flexible and resilient platform, and free airlines to focus on their core business.

Q What is driving CAE’s approach to Flight Operations Solutions?

A Harsha Majeti: Coming out of COVID, there was a lack of skilled labor both for pilots and operations control center staff, with airlines hiring younger generations who needed to rapidly develop their expertise. When you combine the industry’s complexity with immature technology solutions, helping get new staff onboard becomes a major challenge.

We believe the solution lies in delivering a platform that drives operational efficiency and productivity, encompassing advanced
technologies like machine learning and AI to meet and advance the industry’s needs. Our approach serves multiple sectors: commercial aviation, business aviation, and the emerging air taxi and eVTOL market. We’re focused on advancing intuitive web based and mobile friendly solutions that appeal to younger employees, while addressing key industry challenges like regulatory compliance, fuel costs, and the need to optimize workforce productivity.

Q How does CAE help them navigate this transition?

A Harsha Majeti: Changing an airline operations platform is like performing open heart surgery while running a marathon. You cannot shut down the airline — you must continue running it while carefully replacing piece by piece. If even one piece doesn’t work, passengers see the immediate impact because they’re stuck at the airport and upset passengers might post about it on social media, affecting the airline’s brand significantly. 

These are like any ERP replacement projects — they take a long time. However, airlines require immediate help, so CAE is complementing the transformation process by offering change management capabilities and pre-authorizing third-party vendors who can help with necessary middleware transformation. The faster we move everyone to SaaS and the latest cloud technology, the better we can serve them. Innovation will be available at their fingertips, and airlines can tap into newer technology to help their people do more to accomplish their business goals.

Q How does CAE support this process?

A Harsha Majeti: Legacy technology has been an inhibitor for airlines. With older systems, upgrades were complicated and time consuming, often taking 18 to 36 months. Now, we’re leveraging new technology to ensure things work seamlessly. Because CAE offers cloud-based solutions, we can ensure that back-end operations, software pushes, migrations, and upgrades can be planned with minimal downtime. We’re making it easier for airlines to accept new changes so they can see innovation and adopt it at a much faster pace.

Q What differentiates CAE’s approach to airline operations?

A Harsha Majeti: Drawing on our extensive experience in pilot training and simulation, CAE brings proven expertise to flight operations transformation. Our phased implementation approach minimizes risk while delivering savings across technology, staffing, disruption, and regulatory costs. Instead of custom-building solutions for each carrier, we’ve developed a flexible rules library that allows airlines to maintain their specific operational requirements — from union rules to crew management — while benefiting from standardized technology.

Our message to airlines is, let CAE handle the technology while you focus on running the airline and delivering the best passenger experience. We’ll continue bringing innovation to fulfill your
workforce and business needs over the long term.

Meet the Expert Harsha Majeti is Vice President & General Manager, Product Management at CAE, Inc. He oversees product management, strategy vision, pricing, and future investments.