Thailand – SAP Thailand has announced that Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited (BA) has selected RISE with SAP, a comprehensive business transformation package that includes cloud solutions, infrastructure, and services, to enhance operational efficiency and adaptability. This move aims to provide the airline with a competitive edge through advanced technologies and improved IT resource management.

Bangkok Airways, a leading boutique airline in Asia, serves over 12 domestic and seven international destinations, operates three airports, and carried more than 4.4 million passengers in 2023. The airline is leveraging RISE with SAP on AWS to future-proof its operations, boost reliability, and agility, and achieve its goal of becoming the best airline in Asia.

“We can now effortlessly scale up our capabilities during peak periods and save on costs from greater efficiency. Previously, our on-premises setup limited our productivity, but we now experience significantly reduced processing times. Business-critical reports that used to take days can now be completed almost instantly, optimizing our IT resource mobilization and enhancing ground operations for a smoother passenger experience,” said Monpraon Sukroongreung, Ph.D., Senior Director of Corporate Information Technology at Bangkok Airways.

For nearly a decade, BA relied on on-premises SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions to manage operational costs and profitability data. However, to support its next growth phase, the airline needed a more flexible and scalable system to navigate rapidly changing market conditions and technological advancements, particularly in generative AI.

“The pandemic disrupted the entire airline industry, including us. Amid market volatility and unforeseen challenges, we knew we had to proactively ensure Bangkok Airways’ resilience and operational agility post-pandemic. This would be enabled by our digital transformation in the cloud with trusted partners SAP, AWS, and NTT DATA Business Solutions,” added Sukroongreung.

Transitioning to a cloud environment with RISE with SAP on AWS, BA shifted its SAP ERP architecture from a scale-out to a scale-up model, adopting a “clean core” strategy to standardize ERP processes and data with minimal modifications. This approach allows for cloud-compliant extensions and customizations as the business evolves, streamlining maintenance efforts, reducing costs, and improving scalability.

Since going live on the cloud in November 2023, BA has experienced increased system availability. Centralized batch processing for back-office operations and workflow automation now provide greater visibility into business processes and real-time insights for better data-driven decision-making. Additionally, enhanced disaster recovery capabilities have reduced the risk of data loss and downtime, further improving system performance and reliability for customers, employees, and stakeholders.

“The past three years have accelerated change across many industries, including aviation, as demand for air travel rebounds. I am proud that Bangkok Airways selected RISE with SAP on AWS, benefiting from a unified cloud operating model that reduces system complexities and improves visibility of flight performance and profitability,” said Kulwipa Piyawattanametha, Managing Director of SAP Indochina.

“The robust ecosystem of SAP and AWS aligns well with our enterprise business requirements. As our business scales and transforms, we can leverage this ecosystem for a broad range of tailored services and solutions,” said Sukroongreung.