As air travel and tourism returns to pre-pandemic levels, the commercial aviation industry is ready to welcome travelers back into the air. And digital technology has the potential to help airlines create a smoother travel experience, especially for those who may not have traveled in the past few years.
American Airlines, the world’s largest airline, is one of the first global airlines to recognize and embrace this opportunity. To minimize disruptions in the airport, on the tarmac and throughout the system, American and Microsoft are partnering to streamline operations, better empower team members and enhance customer experiences using the Microsoft Cloud.
Through this partnership, the airline is equipping its frontline workers with access to information and insights that streamline ground operations and make travel a more pleasant experience for customers, as well as applying data and other technologies to enhance business processes.
“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,” says American Airlines’ Chief Information Officer Maya Leibman.
Improving costs and increasing efficiency
For airlines and customers who are trying to make a connecting flight, minutes count. Together, American and Microsoft are applying the power of AI, machine learning and data analytics to reduce the taxi time for flights, giving connecting customers extra time to make their next flight while also saving thousands of gallons of jet fuel and decreasing CO2 emissions for the American Airlines fleet. Built on Azure, American’s intelligent gating program provides real-time analysis of data points, including routing and runway information to automatically assign the nearest available gate to arriving aircraft.
Gating decisions for American’s 136 gates at Dallas/Fort-Worth International Airport…