Reimagining Airline Efficiency: Sutherland Helps Optimize Costs by 60% for Regional Aviation Leader

Industry: Travel, Transportation, Hospitality & Logistics
Services: Automation, Business Operations, Business Process as a Service, AltraPRA

Client Overview

A prominent airline headquartered in the Middle East, this industry leader is recognized for its expansive passenger and cargo operations spanning global markets. They are renowned for delivering high-quality service and operational reliability.

The Challenge

Modernizing Financial Operations to Drive Efficiency and Compliance

While the airline was renowned for its exceptional passenger experience, it faced persistent challenges within its back-office financial operations that hindered overall performance and scalability. Key issues included:

• A high volume of manual exceptions making it difficult to meet service level agreements (SLAs)
  
• Batch processing delays creating transaction bottlenecks when exceptions were triggered
  
• Limited automation in managing interline partnerships, resulting in delayed settlements
  
• Complex tax processing across multiple geographies, elevating compliance risks and audit exposure
  

To support growth and maintain competitive advantage, the airline needed to accelerate the delivery of passenger sales data, reduce manual interventions, and strengthen audit readiness – ultimately driving improvements in tax compliance, revenue assurance, and operational agility.

Sutherland Solution

Achieving Financial Precision and Scalability Through Intelligent Automation

To modernize its financial operations and eliminate inefficiencies, Sutherland partnered with the airline to implement a comprehensive automation strategy powered by Sutherland Altra® RPA and advanced digital tools:

1. Automated Sales Data Processing
   Sutherland deployed Altra PRA to automate daily sales data capture and reporting, enabling 99% of transactions to be processed within 48 hours, drastically improving data availability and operational accuracy.
2. Touchless Fare Auditing
   By transitioning 85% of fare audits to touchless workflows, the airline significantly reduced manual effort, decreased error rates, and accelerated audit cycles.
3. Real-Time Revenue Insights
   Real-time access to sales and revenue data empowered finance and pricing teams to make faster, more informed decisions, driving agility in pricing strategies and financial forecasting.
4. Automated Accounts Reconciliation
   The airline completely their automated credit card-related accounts receivable reconciliation, reducing processing times, cutting operational costs, and lowering dependency on manual staffing.
5. Enhanced Transaction Auditing
   A robust transaction-level audit system was established to proactively detect fare anomalies and revenue leakage, supporting stronger financial controls and compliance oversight.

Together, these initiatives positioned the airline for sustained financial excellence, improving data reliability, accelerating financial cycles, and unlocking significant operational efficiencies.

The Outcome

60% Cost Reduction and Data-Driven Agility in Financial Operations

Sutherland’s intelligent automation strategy delivered transformative financial and operational outcomes for the airline. Within the first year, the company achieved a 60% reduction in overall operating costs and a 32% decrease in passenger revenue accounting expenses, dramatically improving efficiency and scalability.

Real-time access to sales and revenue data empowered commercial teams to make faster, more informed pricing decisions, enhancing revenue optimization. Meanwhile, touchless fare auditing and automated reconciliation streamlined financial workflows, minimized manual intervention, and strengthened financial governance. 

That’s digital outcomes delivered!

These improvements positioned the airline for sustained cost control, operational agility, and smarter decision-making across its finance function.