Virgin Blue settles over check-in systems outage

Virgin Blue has reached an out-of-court settlement with technology and business outsourcer Navitaire for a hardware failure that stranded thousands of passengers last September.

The airline had been using Navitaire’s New Skies platform for reservation and check-in processes since mid-2009.

On 26 September, a hardware failure at Navitaire forced Virgin Blue to revert to manual check-in processes, resulting in the cancellation of at least 116 flights.

Virgin Blue claimed that disruptions lasted 11 days, estimating a pre-tax profit impact of between $15 million and $20 million (pdf).

In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange today, the airline claimed to have reached a “mutually satisfactory agreement” with Accenture subsidiary Navitaire (pdf).

Virgin Blue did not provide details of the settlement; however, it said it had accounted for the financial impact of the settlement in a bleak financial year outlook last month.

The airline expected to report a loss of between $30 million and $80 million this financial year, forecasting a “challenging” second half.