Generative AI (GenAI) is undoubtedly a hot topic and features in FTE’s ‘12 technology and CX trends that can enhance airline and airport operations in 2025’. GenAI solutions are rapidly spreading across various industries, including air transport, as a result of their transformative potential. In part 2 of our comprehensive focus on GenAI, Alaska Airlines, VINCI Airports – Aéroports de Lyon, Turkish Airlines, Berlin Brandenburg Airport and Amazon Web Services share how GenAI is enhancing operations and providing more seamless, immersive, personalised customer experiences beyond the typical use cases of search engines or chatbots. You can view part 1 of our focus on GenAI – featuring Aeroporti di Roma, Fraport, SITA and DataArt – by clicking here.
Alaska Airlines building a suite of guest-facing GenAI tools for increased personalisation
Alaska Airlines is the first airline to launch a guest-facing Generative AI (GenAI) tool called Alaska Inspires. “We heard from our guests they can spend upwards of 40 hours on planning a trip to an all-new destination,” explains Bernadette Berger, Director of Innovation, Alaska Airlines. “Much of that time is spent comparing destinations, price, travel time and reading reviews. We built a Natural Language Search tool to allow guests to search for their next destination using their own words, preferred language, or voice. Guests can ask, ‘Where can I go in Europe for under 80k miles?’ or ‘Where can I go skiing that is less than 4 hours away?’ Alaska Inspires is powered with OpenAI, which provides very personalised responses. Guests can choose one of four recommended destinations and read why that destination was selected. Alaska is building a suite of guest-facing GenAI tools that enable customers to discover, shop and book trips faster, easier and with a more personalised flow.”
A key focus for Alaska Airlines is on giving customers personalised insights and choice on their day of travel. Berger highlights that GenAI is an excellent tool for understanding what guests want and providing information back in the mode they prefer. “Using your voice as an interface, in your preferred language, is a perfect method for quick questions or simple actions. ‘How many minutes until I board?’ or ‘Check me in for my flight’ are great use-cases for voice-interface GenAI. Additionally, translating live announcements and direct texts into a guest’s preferred language improves understanding.”
GenAI can be used for translating raw data into human language. Airlines are filled with acronyms and jargon that only the true industry veterans understand. “GenAI is excellent for ingesting rules, policies, and operational data, while generating responses that explain why a situation is happening in clear and brand-aligned language,” Berger shares. “Today Alaska Airlines uses GenAI to help Customer Service Agents find answers to specific policy questions and respond to guest emails with speed and care.”
Of course, while offering significant opportunities there are also challenges regarding the utilisation of GenAI. Berger notes that, with all activations of AI, rigorous privacy and quality standards must be in place. “Building tools with AI is fast, but time must be dedicated to model training, security and user testing.”
Concluding with advice for airlines, airports and other industry stakeholders exploring how they can use GenAI, Berger emphasises the importance of a focus on reducing the cost of testing. “If your AI roadmap is full of expensive and time-consuming trials, your team will spiral in hypotheticals and what-ifs. Build fast and in-expensive experiments to vet the technology, the use-case, the input, and the output. Learn what fails quickly and with limited heartache, then build on the quick wins. You will find out quickly what is marketing hype, what brings business value, and what delights your customer.”
Hear more from Bernadette Berger, Director of Innovation, Alaska Airlines, in a keynote address at the FTE World Innovation Summit, hosted by Pittsburgh International Airport on 13-15 May 2025. Berger will reveal how AI, Computer Vision, and Digital Twins are revolutionising the gate experience and ramp operations. Meanwhile, Gus Naughton, Principal Software Engineer – Innovation, Alaska Airlines, is also confirmed to speak at the event.
Find out more and register for the FTE World Innovation Summit >>How GenAI will improve customer experience in Lyon Airport and VINCI Airports
Insights from César Clary, Head of Digital Innovation for Lyon Airport & Head of VINCI Airports Center of Excellence on Customer Experience
Airside, landside or inside, at VINCI Airports (a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub), Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is contributing to reshaping passenger experiences and optimising flow management, while reducing CO2 emissions. Lyon Airport, as an Innovation Center of Excellence for VINCI Airports, is testing and implementing Generative AI (GenAI) to enhance customer experience and optimise operations.
“AI is not just a buzzword – it’s a technology that drives efficiency, improves interaction, personalises services, and saves time,” explains César Clary, Head of Digital & Innovation at Aéroports de Lyon/VINCI Airports.
However, he stresses that AI should serve a broader strategy rather than be a goal. “We are making significant strides in using Artificial Intelligence to personalise services, improve efficiency, and reshape airport management.”
The AI approach is built on in-house tools and cooperation. Lyon Airport, which deals with more than 10 million passengers per year, wants to remain at the cutting-edge of customer experience, and has already integrated GenAI into several customer-facing key areas, cooperating with different partners:
- A chatbotpowered by GenAI is improving passenger engagement by delivering accurate automated answers to passengers through the website.
- A virtual AI agentwill soon be tested in the terminals to enhance service quality and interactions, with an immersive solution. Using Agentic AI, it will provide 24/7 multilingual assistance, accessing real-time information on flights, airport orientation and available services.
“The goal is to provide more personalised and seamless interactions for travellers while supporting the staff,” Clary explains.
GenAI and Agentic AI are transforming customer experience by making interactions more seamless and immersive. It enables multilingual communication, personalised interactions and recommendations, and will help develop new customer-centric services.
On the operational side, AI is enhancing real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and process automation, ensuring greater efficiency and fluidity in airport operations and passenger flow.
Despite its potential, integrating GenAI comes with challenges. Staff must be trained to interact effectively with AI-driven tools, and resistance to change can slow adoption.
Ensuring the accuracy of AI-generated outputs is also crucial, requiring continuous validation and improvement. Security, data protection, and seamless integration with existing systems remain key concerns. To succeed, businesses must start with well-defined use cases, focus on change management, and launch small-scale projects to demonstrate value.
Above all, as Clary emphasises: “Spend time on algorithms and technology, but above all, invest in people, processes, and change management. Start small, demonstrate value, and educate your teams to ensure successful adoption.”
With Lyon Airport paving the way, VINCI Airports is proving that GenAI is not just a futuristic concept, but a real-world tool transforming mobility today.
Turkish Airlines using GenAI to optimise operations and hyper-personalise CX
Turkish Airlines – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub – is leveraging Generative AI (GenAI) across multiple projects. “Our first production product was the Online Knowledge Library, which uses Large Language Models (LLMs) to help customer support agents retrieve information more efficiently and accurately,” shares Bülent Özbalaban, IT Portfolio Manager, Turkish Airlines / Turkish Technology.
Additionally, the airline is developing GenAI solutions for internal knowledge management, customer support automation, training programs, and assisting cabin crew with real-time information and decision-making.
“We are now seeing the real-world impacts of GenAI beyond simple chatbots,” says Özbalaban. “For example, we use LLMs to analyse error logs for faster troubleshooting, recommend new destinations and itineraries to customers based on preferences, and enhance operational efficiency by automating document processing, compliance checks, and crew scheduling.”
GenAI has the potential to optimise multiple aspects of airline operations. It can assist maintenance teams by analysing aircraft health data, improving predictive maintenance, and reducing operational disruptions. “For staff, it can provide real-time guidance, automate repetitive tasks, and enhance training programs with AI-driven simulations,” Özbalaban explains. “On the customer experience side, AI can power hyper-personalised recommendations, automate support interactions, and enhance inflight services with intelligent assistants.”
One of the biggest challenges is ensuring data privacy and security, particularly in handling sensitive customer and operational data. “There’s also a need for continuous monitoring and fine-tuning of AI models to prevent biases and ensure reliable outputs,” says Özbalaban. “Regulatory considerations and explainability of AI decisions are also key concerns that must be addressed.”
Concluding with advice for airlines, airports and other industry stakeholders exploring how they can use GenAI, Özbalaban emphasises to start small but think big. “Piloting AI in targeted areas like customer service or operations can help build confidence and demonstrate value before scaling. Ensure collaboration between technical and business teams to align AI capabilities with real-world needs. Data quality is critical, so investing in structured, clean data sources will yield better AI outcomes. Lastly, keeping up with AI regulations and focusing on ethical AI use will be essential for long-term success.”
Berlin Brandenburg Airport: “GenAI will reshape how organisations handle data and information”
At Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub, one of the first applications of Generative AI (GenAI) is its fully automated call centre and digital assistant, ‘Melli’. This GenAI tool is currently undergoing a live trial. If successful, BER plans to transition its entire call centre operations to this technology, including internal processes such as the IT helpdesk.
“GenAI is much more than just a trend,” says Roland Böhm, Head of Operations Planning and Development, Berlin Brandenburg Airport. “It will prove valuable for high-volume, repetitive, and non-safety-critical tasks. However, when it comes to areas with direct safety or security implications, I remain cautious. In such cases, GenAI should serve as a supportive tool rather than replacing human decision-making. Once properly trained, GenAI can provide consistent and reliable information at any time, regardless of volume, time of day, or complexity of enquiries.”
Of course, while offering significant opportunities there are also challenges regarding the utilisation of GenAI. “Training requires time and effort,” Böhm shares. “The focus shifts toward quality control and the structured organisation of relevant information and data. Another key challenge is passenger acceptance – will travellers perceive digital assistants as a valuable service, and to what extent should they be clearly identifiable as non-human? Over time, GenAI may become an expected standard for airports striving to offer a premium service experience.”
Concluding with advice for airports, airlines and other industry stakeholders exploring how they can use GenAI, Böhm emphasises that now is the time to experiment and find ways to integrate this technology into existing processes. “GenAI will reshape how organisations handle data and information. Those who establish a solid foundation early on will gain a competitive advantage in the long run.”
Amazon Web Services on how GenAI is transforming aviation operations and customer service
Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Generative AI (GenAI) offering combines a range of AWS services with security and privacy built in. Amazon Bedrock is a fully managed service that offers a choice of high-performing foundation models that power GenAI. “There are a wide range available, some are faster than others, some are better at chat, some excel at reasoning,” explains Bob Kwik, Worldwide Head of Airports and Ground Transportation, AWS. “Amazon Bedrock includes the capabilities customers need to build GenAI applications with security, privacy, and responsible AI. We’ve recently launched Amazon Nova, our new state-of-the-art foundation models that offers advanced intelligence at lower cost.”
Amazon Q is AWS’ GenAI-powered assistant; Amazon SageMaker AI is the company’s fully managed service that brings together a broad set of tools to train, build, and deploy high-performance, low-cost Machine Learning for any use case; and PartyRock, an Amazon Bedrock Playground, is designed to make it easy and accessible for anyone to experiment hands-on with prompt engineering in an intuitive and fun way.
“We also offer cloud infrastructure with Amazon’s custom-built AI chips to deliver higher performance at lower cost, and data services to help organisations organise and leverage their structured data (for example in databases) and unstructured data (for example in documents),” says Kwik. “This is protected by security, privacy controls, and guardrails to ensure responsible AI use.”
Meanwhile, the Generative AI Innovation Center connects customers with AWS AI experts who provide hands-on guidance through workshops and training to help organisations envision, design, and launch new GenAI solutions.
“GenAI has many practical applications for airports and airlines,” Kwik shares. “For passenger service, it can serve as a digital concierge that helps staff answer complex queries about ground transport, airline policies, and traveller rights. In operations, GenAI can summarise daily operations reports, extract key performance indicators, and identify trends from operational data. During disruptions, it can assist both passengers and staff with queries about delayed flights, baggage issues, and missed connections. The technology also enhances passenger engagement through real-time language translation and automated communications. Manchester Airports Group built conversational multi-lingual capabilities into their customer information kiosk using Amazon Bedrock.”
For back-office efficiency, GenAI can analyse and extract data from operational reports, statements, and contracts, turning complex documents into actionable insights. “It can create personalised travel content and develop sophisticated customer service solutions that provide contextual, intuitive assistance throughout the travel journey,” says Kwik. “Belfast City Airport duty managers use a GenAI solution built on Amazon Bedrock to help provide faster responses to passenger queries.”
GenAI is transforming aviation operations and customer service. “LATAM Airlines transformed their contact centre using Amazon Bedrock, scaling from 70,000 calls in their initial proof of concept to 1.5 million monthly calls, with 85% response accuracy,” Kwik explains. “United Airlines modernised their 50-year-old technology by using Amazon Bedrock to translate Passenger Name Records, improving reservation data handling. Booking.com uses Amazon Bedrock to provide tailored travel recommendations and property information. Delta is pioneering personalised experiences with Delta Concierge, an AI-powered personal assistant that combines customer preferences with travel insights to create customised experiences and resolve customer queries. TUI delivers high-quality content in seconds using Amazon Bedrock, demonstrating how GenAI can accelerate content creation and customer communication. Ryanair uses Amazon Bedrock with their own data for their GenAI application that helps airline staff quickly find and interpret staff rostering information in their existing manuals and documents, while maintaining data security and privacy within their own environment. The Amazon Generative AI Innovation Center is helping a major U.S. airport use their digital twin data and maintenance manuals to help troubleshoot equipment (such as HVAC) problems more quickly.”
Foundation models are very capable and enable some great applications, but Kwik emphasises that the most impact for any business is GenAI that knows your customers, your products, and your company. “Data is the key to moving from generic applications to customised GenAI applications that create real value for your customers and your business,” says Kwik. “Airports and airlines are achieving this with Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), a technique that involves fetching data from company data sources and enriching the prompt with that data to deliver more relevant and accurate responses. The challenge for many airports and airlines is making this data available as it’s locked away in applications running in their data centres.”
Kwik highlights that the integration of GenAI must align with broader digital transformation goals while meeting growing customer expectations for personalised, intuitive experiences. “Organisations must implement security and privacy controls while setting guardrails for responsible AI use. Staff training and data integration are necessary, particularly in adapting existing workflows to incorporate GenAI tools. Ensuring the responsible and ethical use of AI while maintaining transparency in AI-generated content require clear governance and policies.”
Concluding with advice for airports, airlines and other industry stakeholders exploring how they can use GenAI, Kwik emphasises the importance of starting with a clear vision of how GenAI can enhance your passenger experience and operational efficiency. “Follow the example of industry leaders like United Airlines or Manchester Airport, who are implementing AI-powered solutions that create personalised, contextual experiences throughout the travel journey,” says Kwik. “Begin with specific use cases that deliver measurable value, such as automating customer communications or generating personalised travel content. Use Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to improve accuracy and relevance of AI outputs. Consider starting with existing AI-powered solutions like Amazon Connect for contact centre operations or Amazon Q Business for internal operations. Many airports and airlines don’t have the in-house expertise so should work with partners experienced with GenAI and the industry for the discovery, governance, and implementation. Focus on creating intuitive, seamless experiences that meet evolving customer expectations for personalisation at every step of their journey, or that empower staff and remove friction from their role.”
GenAI a driving force behind optimisation, personalisation and innovation
As the above examples illustrate, GenAI has the potential to reshape the aviation industry in profound ways. GenAI is becoming a driving force behind optimisation, personalisation and innovation. AI-powered systems enable airlines to optimise flight paths, improve air traffic management, and enhance fuel efficiency by analysing real-time data streams. GenAI further supports this by modelling complex scenarios, such as optimising schedules in response to changing weather or air traffic conditions, ensuring operational resilience. It is also enhancing the passenger experience through personalised service, customer support, predictive analytics and much more, making the overall travel experience smoother, faster and more tailored.
Read more about the 12 technology and CX trends that can enhance airline and airport operations in 2025 >>
