The airline industry now has a blueprint for agentic AI

The agentic AI conversation has long been weighted toward consumer use cases. That balance is now tipping, and conversations about business applications are accelerating. The shift toward use at scale is gaining real pace in the airline industry, which has now mapped out its initial agentic AI use cases. Improved passenger experiences, better handling of disruption, contextually relevant and streamlined booking, and stronger operations are all part of the promise.  

This latest iteration of AI is being embedded in the core of next-generation airline tech, but it’s the use cases above the API that allow travelers and airlines to see the benefits of it in the more immediate term. 

The airline industry is at an inflection point 

Agentic AI is expected to improve almost every airline workflow, from network planning to customer service, while also introducing entirely new capabilities. Most importantly, this new technology will help the industry accelerate progress toward a smoother, more connected journey for travelers.  

We have recently published a report identifying where airlines can already apply AI across their operations. What makes it a valuable resource is not any single idea, but that the leading use cases now exist in one place at the centre of the industry discussion, with tangible recommendations for how airlines can roll them out. 

Five use cases, one vision for the future of travel 

Airlines are already experimenting with agentic AI. From our ongoing conversations with them, five top use cases have emerged that airlines can start deploying now. 

One of the most exciting is automated voice rebooking. Trials show that an airline AI agent can identify a booking, understand a spoken change request, propose new options, explain the fare difference, and initiate payment subject to traveler confirmation. It can handle multiple calls at once in the traveler’s preferred language, cutting the wait times that frustrate travelers. With an AI agent tackling the high-volume, easy to resolve requests, human customer service teams can address more complicated cases that require a greater level of expertise and support.   

This technology has been successfully tested and is ready for airlines to use. 

The second is agentic commerce. AI can plan, book, and service customized trips either directly within third-party assistants like Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini and ChatGPT or via an AI interface provided by the airline across their own touchpoints (e.g. web and mobile). By drawing on available context to infer intent signals, and when connected effectively to an airline’s systems, AI can provide relevant recommendations and solve complex servicing scenarios. 

Digital marketing is the next example. A team of AI agents working together can make marketing more agile. They can identify underperforming routes, recommend a campaign strategy, generate the digital ads, allocate spend across channels, and then execute and report on the results. 

The fourth is turnaround management. Teams of AI agents can support aircraft turnaround by monitoring maintenance, crew, refueling, and other processes to recommend an integrated plan. Icelandair and Southwest Airlines are already exploring AI-enabled decision support to improve operational planning. 

Then there are customized offers and tailored digital experiences. AI agents are replacing static rules and overcoming the data fragmentation that has long held airlines back from more modernized operations, so they can create more tailored, individual experiences. In effect, AI enables airlines to align traveler needs with the airline’s strategic objectives. 

Underpinning all five is a set of important foundations. Strong results depend on the quality, availability, and structure of airline data, which makes data preparation the critical first step. Airlines should focus on the workflows where AI can deliver the greatest impact, be honest about whether AI is the right tool in each case, and put governance in place so it scales responsibly, builds trust, and delivers real value to airlines and travelers alike. 

What this looks like for the traveler 

These five use cases are easiest to grasp when you follow a single family’s trip. 

Consider a family with young children planning a holiday on a budget. They turn to an AI assistant such as ChatGPT to help plan the trip. It recommends a destination that suits their budget and their needs, and they book directly with the airline, which has connected its systems into the assistant. That is agentic commerce at work. 

Then a family matter forces a change of dates. Instead of spending hours on the phone, the family speaks to an AI agent that rebooks the flights in minutes. 

Ahead of travel, the airline draws on available booking and travel context to surface relevant offers, encouraging them to discover and book tickets to a local water park through the airline’s app. That is personalized offers in action. 

On the day of travel, the airport is busy and they are at risk of missing the flight. The airline is alerted that they have cleared security and holds the gate until they reach it. When the family lands at their destination, they receive an alert from the airline’s app that their bag hasn’t arrived. After a brief chat with the airline’s AI concierge in the app, they’re put at ease that their baggage is being handled, will be delivered to their hotel the next day, and they’ll be compensated for the inconvenience.   

In a traditional scenario, the issues facing this family could have caused a lot of stress, cost a significant amount of extra money, or made them miss their holiday altogether. Instead, the pragmatic and intelligent use of AI made it a truly seamless experience. It also shows how these use cases connect into one experience and how they play out for the traveler. And for airlines, it shows how they can act in a way that anticipates their travelers’ needs, rather than simply reacting in the moment. 

The technology behind this is no longer hypothetical. For years, wide scale use of agentic AI in aviation was a conversation about what might one day be possible. Now, there is an industry shift from hype to action – the use cases are real. 

What will set airlines apart is not simply being the first to move, rather being equipped to put the technology to work at scale. That comes from strong partnerships with technology providers, regular consultation with the airlines who will run these systems every day, and ongoing conversations with the experts shaping the field. With those foundations, agentic AI will fast become a major part of how the industry runs, and how we all travel.