Riyadh Air partners with IBM Consulting To power what the pair claim is the world's first airline powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Founded in March 2023, Riyad Air is a full-service digital airline that aims to connect passengers to more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030. The airline said it wants to reimagine how employees work and interact with travelers in the age of artificial intelligence, using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and agent-based artificial intelligence capabilities built into workflows.
The company worked with IBM on a multi-year project involving 59 work streams and more than 60 partners, including Adobe, Apple, FLYR, Microsoft and Oracle. IBM Consulting Advantage was used to ensure what IBM and Riyadh Air describe as the smooth implementation of their comprehensive technology strategy.
“We had a clear choice to be the last airline built on legacy technology or the first to be built on the platforms that will define the next decade of aviation,” said Adam Boukadida, chief financial officer of Riyadh Air. “With IBM's help, we've shaken off a 50-year legacy in one fell swoop. Riyadh Air is not just built for today; it's built for the future and creates a path that many airlines can follow in the years to come.”
As it prepares to hire more people, the airline is rolling out a personalized digital workplace powered by artificial intelligence agents, which IBM says allows employees to have a chat-first entry point into HR, streamlining workflows and speeding up self-service for employees and managers.
There are also AI-powered mobile apps to aggregate and integrate employee and guest travel. IBM said it is building an AI-powered agent-based concierge service for employees that will be proactive and contextually aware, and can suggest the best actions for each person interacting with guests. According to IBM, this will allow flight attendants and ground crews to provide personalized service – for example, encouraging staff to offer expedited service to late customers.
AI-enabled voice bots are being used to offer another channel of personalized support based on contextual data, which IBM says can anticipate travelers' needs and improve the overall travel experience.
Sandeep Halli, senior partner at IBM Consulting, said: “We are currently using Watsonx.ai's large language models, which have been refined using Riyadh Air's proprietary knowledge base. We are also sourcing data from existing systems, including operational and commercial data from the first test flights, as well as loyalty data from the recent launch of the Sfeer program.”
The system is hosted in the Microsoft Azure cloud and uses Watsonx OrchestraWatsonx.ai and Watsonx.governance hosted I work on Red Hat OpenShiftwhich Halley says supports digital sovereignty.
In terms of processing power, Halley said, “We use Nvidia GPUs. [graphics processor units] hosted on Microsoft Azure, including high-end options such as the A100 and H200. They provide the computing power needed to run complex models efficiently and at scale. We also use standard processor [central processor unit]Azure-based resources for lighter workloads.”
With first flights already underway and first commercial service expected in early 2026, the three-year collaboration between Riyadh Air and IBM has reached a turning point.
Mohamad Ali, Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting, said: “As a company born in the age of artificial intelligence, Riyadh Air is reimagining what aviation can do, and IBM has been privileged to help bring this vision to life.”
