CIOTech Outlook Team | Friday, 25 July 2025, 13:41 IST
Air New Zealand has established a groundbreaking AI partnership with OpenAI, a national-first for Aotearoa, and places the carrier among the first enterprise AI adopters in Asia Pacific. The airline will leverage ChatGPT Enterprise and OpenAI APIs to build out use cases across customer self-service, operations planning, and internal workflows, with the airline already deploying over 1,500 custom GPTs internally to enhance business processes for its users.
At the same time, the airline has also entered into a five-year digitally transformation partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and expanded partnerships with India-headquartered companies like Cognizant, Accenture, TPF Software, and IBS Software to accelerate expanding scalable AI, automation, and cloud solutions across Air New?Zealand’s systems including fleet management, crew scheduling, retail, cargo and ground services.
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Chief Digital Officer Nikhil Ravishankar emphasizes the redefinition of operations, stating “AI is not just technology, AI is changing the way we operate: AI helps us solve problems faster, serve customers better, and revolutionize how work is done.” The airline incorporates a responsible AI governance framework with air-gapped testing environments, enterprise-grade tools, and programs for reskilling its workforce in areas such as cybersecurity and digital engineering.
The early ROI is already visible: completed AI proofs-of-concept are projected to create about NZD 5 million EBITDA uplift. Air New Zealand is on a mission to become "the world's most digitally advanced airline" and will use generative AI, both in backend functions and customer-facing augmentation.
