Elly Yates-Roberts |
American Airlines and Microsoft have partnered to transform travel experiences for passengers and employees, while streamlining operations, with the help of Microsoft Azure cloud.
The two firms aim to use data and digital technologies to meet customer demands and give employees the tools that enable a smoother travel experience for consumers. For example, they hope to optimise every aspect of the customer experience with advanced analytics and other technologies, including enhanced bag tracking and automatic rerouting of flights based on weather conditions.
“Reliably operating thousands of flights around the world to take customers to hundreds of destinations is critical to American, which is why the airline has chosen Microsoft’s technology to support our applications,” said Maya Leibman, chief information officer at American Airlines. “With the power of Microsoft Azure, American can innovate and accelerate its technology transformation, giving our team members augmented tools to provide our customers with an enhanced travel experience.”
American Airlines and Microsoft are already using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and data analytics to reduce time and distance between landing and disembarkation, saving thousands of gallons of jet fuel and giving connecting customers extra time to make their next flights.
Built on Azure, American Airlines’ intelligent gating program provides real-time analysis of data arrivals to automatically assign the nearest available gate to arriving aircrafts. This has saved up to 10 hours of reduced taxi time per day, lower fuel usage and decreased carbon dioxide emissions.
“As the airline industry continues to transform, building a digital technology foundation in the cloud will be essential for future resilience,” said Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Microsoft. “Through our partnership, American Airlines is taking a forward-thinking, cloud-first approach to using data, AI and our collaboration platforms to reimagine not only its own operations but the experiences of its employees and customers.”