Riyadh Air and IBM announced at IBM Think Riyadh 2025 that they will build a ground-up, AI-native operational infrastructure for the carrier, free of legacy systems. The IBM-powered platform will use generative and autonomous AI for employee workflows, customer care and crew enablement ahead of Riyadh Air's planned 2026 launch.
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Briefing
Signals a new operational model: Riyadh Air is building an IBM-powered, ground-up AI-native platform to run crew enablement, customer care and employee workflows — a move that complements Riyadh Air's fleet build-up such as its first aircraft lease.
Has immediate workforce implications: U.S. carrier United said AI has eliminated 4–8% of management roles, illustrating how automation can materially reshape staffing, productivity and organisational design.
Fits a regional trend of embedding AI and connectivity across operations and passenger touchpoints, exemplified by Abu Dhabi's move to use AI and biometrics across terminal operations and plans for a nationwide air-to-ground in-flight network in Saudi Arabia.
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Riyadh Air and IBM partner to launch world's first AI-native airline • airlinergs.com
Riyadh Air plans to launch as world's first AI-native airline • aerospaceglobalnews.com
