AI Tech / news
IAG Proves AI Value Inside One Airline Before Group-Wide Rollout
International Airlines Group starts AI programs at a single carrier, establishes a baseline and only then expands across its brands, according to chief AI scientist Ben Dias.
Dias said the group's guiding principle is to begin with a genuine business problem at one airline, measure a baseline and learn what works before extending a program. Attempting to build a complete solution from day one tends to slow progress, he added.
IAG's structure makes the starting point a live question for every AI initiative. The group operates British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling under one roof.
By scaling incrementally, the company says it generates value sooner and collects insights that feed back into the solution as it expands. Governance is built in from the first day, which Dias describes as the basis for the group's confidence in moving programs across markets and brands.
Dias also addressed how European regulation, including the EU AI Act and GDPR, has changed the way the group approaches AI deployment as it weighs where the largest gains lie.