INFORMS Career FAQ: Thomas Cook

Next time you fly, chances are, you'll have a smoother, less costly, more enjoyable trip thanks to Dr. Thomas Cook.

Cook is President of SABRE Decision Technologies (SDT), a sister company of American Airlines specializing in consulting services, transaction processing systems, and decision support systems for the travel and transportation industry.

The company is multidisciplinary, employing individuals with backgrounds in computer science, operations research, and engineering. And you'll see the results of their efforts all around you as you prepare for take-off.

When you pick up the phone to book a flight, you'll get quicker service. Because the real-time reservations system SDT built for American Airlines (a world's first!) is now used by more than 28,000 subscribers to handle up to 4,800 messages per second.

And SDT also helps see to it that your pilot and flight attendants show up on time with a sophisticated crew scheduling system. Generates flight schedules to make sure the right number of planes are on the right routes. And makes on-the-spot decisions on how much to overbook flights - so you won't arrive at the gate only to find somebody else in your seat.

In addition to its work for American Airlines, SDT has over 200 external clients in more than 50 countries...including railroads, hotels and resorts, cruise lines, trucking companies, food service companies, health care providers, financial institutions, retailers, and manufacturers.

And all of them benefit from the scientific decision-making techniques that have served Cook throughout his career as teacher, researcher, manager, and consultant - and helped him play a key role in making American the world's leading airline.