Whitepaper: Airlines in the agentic agePage TitleAmadeus. It’s how travel works smarter.1Since the introduction of ChatGPT in 2022, the world has been captivated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Opinions remain divided on whether it represents a true revolution or simply the next stage of technological evolution.In our view, early generations of AI—machine learning and generative— were very useful technology breakthroughs, but the emergence of agentic capabilities represents an unprecedented opportunity for airlines.From executing commercial strategies to supporting decisions in an Operational Control Centre (OCC), AI provides varied cognitive capacity. It monitors the environment, generates recommendations, and, crucially, takes action. It operates continuously; 24 hours a day, in real time.An AI agent we are testing today will handle a passenger call to change a ticket in an instant. Unlike early automation attempts, this is not a fragmented experience. The AI locates the booking, understands the request (irrespective of language), proposes options, processes the rebooking, and initiates payment. This example is only the beginning. We expect agentic AI to improve almost every airline workflow; from network planning to distribution. Agentic AI arrives at a moment when airlines are already transforming with new systems for Offer, Order, Settle and Deliver. At Amadeus we’re building our portfolio of modular retailing solutions (Amadeus Nevio) with agentic AI natively embedded. In some modules, AI will sit below the APIs rather than on top of them – meaning it is closer to the data and business logic it needs to provide value.AI can also augment our current applications, adding new capabilities. It will help airlines to extract more value from their software, faster and with less effort. So, in parallel with making early standalone use cases like the one mentioned above available to airlines now, we’re working on augmenting and reinforcing the full Amadeus portfolio with AI, and we believe this will bring even more value to our customers.Perhaps the most exciting development is the ability for agentic systems to connect previously siloed domains within and outside an airline. Teams of AI agents are beginning to communicate and collaborate, which will help airlines overcome longstanding challenges around data integration, team coordination, decision optimization, and process alignment.Yet disruptive technologies can be intimidating. They challenge established ways of working and require strong executive sponsorship, cross-functional collaboration, effective change management, strong governance, and above all, a genuine willingness to experiment.At Amadeus, we are working closely with airlines and trusted partners such as Microsoft to understand how well-governed and cleverly used AI can deliver real value to the industry. Alongside developing our own age...
