Airline set to launch with end-to-end AI workflows
Riyadh Air has collaborated with IBM Consulting to ship what the pair declare is the world’s first airline that’s synthetic intelligence (AI) native.
Launched in March 2023, the airline Riyad Air is a digitally led, full-service airline, which goals to attach passengers to greater than 100 locations all over the world by 2030. The airline mentioned it desires to reimagine how workers work and have interaction with travellers within the AI period utilizing generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI capabilities embedded in workflows.
It has been working with IBM on a multi-year mission involving 59 workstreams and greater than 60 companions, together with Adobe, Apple, FLYR, Microsoft and Oracle. IBM Consulting Benefit has been used to ship what IBM and Riyadh Air describe as seamless execution of its end-to-end know-how technique.
“We had a transparent alternative – be the final airline constructed on legacy know-how or be the primary constructed on the platforms that may outline the subsequent decade of aviation,” mentioned Adam Boukadida, chief monetary officer of Riyadh Air. “With IBM, we’ve stripped out 50 years of legacy in a single stroke. Riyadh Air isn’t simply constructed for at the moment; it’s constructed for the long run and making a pathway for a lot of airways to comply with within the years to come back.”
Because it prepares to rent extra individuals, the airline is introducing a personalised digital office powered by AI brokers, which IBM mentioned allows workers to have a chat-first entry level to HR to simplify workflows and speed up worker and supervisor self-service.
There are additionally AI-powered cellular functions to attach and combine worker and visitor journeys. IBM mentioned it’s constructing an agentic AI-based concierge expertise for workers that’s proactive and contextually conscious, which is ready to suggest finest actions for every persona interacting with visitors. In line with IBM, this may allow cabin and floor crews to ship tailor-made companies – for instance, prompting workers to supply fast-track companies to clients operating late.
AI‑enabled voice bots are getting used to supply one other channel for personalised help primarily based on contextual information, which IBM mentioned can anticipate traveller wants and improve the general journey expertise.
Sandeep Halli, senior associate at IBM Consulting, mentioned: “We’re presently utilizing massive language fashions from Watsonx.ai which were effective‑tuned with Riyadh Air’s personal information base. We’re additionally ingesting information from present programs, together with operational and industrial information from the preliminary check flights, in addition to loyalty information from the current Sfeer programme launch.”
The system is hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud and makes use of Watsonx Orchestrate, Watsonx.ai and Watsonx.governance hosted operating on Crimson Hat OpenShift, which Halli mentioned helps digital sovereignty.
When it comes to computational energy, Halli mentioned: “We’re utilizing Nvidia GPUs [graphics processor units] hosted on Microsoft Azure, together with excessive‑efficiency choices just like the A100 and H200. These present the compute energy wanted to run superior fashions effectively and at scale. We additionally use normal CPU [central processor unit]‑primarily based Azure assets for lighter workloads.”
With preliminary flights underway and its first industrial service anticipated in early 2026, the three‑yr collaboration between Riyadh Air and IBM has reached a pivotal second.
Mohamad Ali, senior vice-president of IBM Consulting, mentioned: “As an organization born within the AI period, Riyadh Air is redefining what’s attainable in aviation, and it’s been a privilege for IBM to assist make that imaginative and prescient a actuality.”
