Qatar Airways bets on AI to boost performance and passenger experience with new Accenture partnership
August 13, 2025
Qatar Airways has joined the growing number of global carriers betting on artificial intelligence to sharpen performance, enhance passenger experience, and future-proof operations, launching a new partnership with Accenture to deliver its AI Skyways programme.
“AI Skyways will leverage AI to reimagine a spectrum of operations across Qatar Airways Group—from customer service to operations, to ensure that passengers enjoy a seamless and enriching travel experience,” says Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, Qatar Airways CEO. “Furthermore, the partnership will focus on using AI for real-time data analysis to improve decision-making capabilities and operational responses.”
Qatar Airways has indeed been at the forefront of deploying AI and advanced digital technology across a range of innovative touchpoints.
Sama 2.0 is billed as the world’s first AI digital human cabin crew member, introduced at ITB Berlin 2024 and now active across platforms like Instagram, the Qatar Airways app, and the immersive web-based QVerse.
Alongside this, Qatar Airways was the first to trial in-flight WiFi from Starlink, and has now completed the installation of this next-generation connectivity across its Boeing 777 fleet.
How AI will reshape Qatar Airways
While the specifics of AI Skyways are in their infancy, Qatar Airways and Accenture have shared some hints as to the ways in which AI will be employed to improve efficiency and customer experience. These include:
- Optimising flight schedules: By deploying AI to analyse real-time data and operational patterns, Qatar Airways aims to improve efficiency, reduce delays, and better align resources with demand.
- Enhancing predictive maintenance: Using advanced algorithms, the airline will monitor aircraft performance and anticipate maintenance needs, ensuring smoother operations and reducing downtime.
- Personalisation of customer interactions: AI will deliver tailored experiences to passengers, from customised communications to interactive touchpoints that enhance the overall journey.
To facilitate these initiatives, a central unit will oversee all Qatar Airways AI initiatives, ensuring every project delivers quantifiable results aligned with business objectives.
The partners share that AI Skyways will be guided by a framework that ensures every AI-driven application respects privacy, follows ethical best practices and is continuously monitored to serve all stakeholders responsibly.
Accenture: A strong track record in AI for aviation
As partners for AI go, Qatar Airways couldn’t have picked a better one. Accenture has already delivered significant AI and cloud-driven solutions for major companies in aviation.
In 2022, Accenture assisted Navitaire in migrating its New Skies reservations platform to Microsoft Azure. Alongside this cloud transition, the firm incorporated AI and advanced analytics to help airlines offer smarter products and more agile digital experiences.
In November 2024, in partnership with Microsoft, Accenture co-developed a generative AI solution for GE Aerospace that boosted efficiency significantly. The application allows maintenance workers to instantly access critical aircraft documentation, streamlining a process that formerly took hours or days.
Air France-KLM teamed up with Accenture and Google Cloud in July 2025 to create a generative AI “factory.” This innovation hub enables the development, testing, and deployment of AI models at scale, using tools like AI-powered diagnostics for aircraft damage and internal chatbots.
This partnership followed Accenture’s previous work with Air France-KLM to transform and migrate the airline group’s existing digital applications to the cloud. Julie Pozzi, head of data & AI at Air France-KLM, said the group wants to “leverage generative AI to reinvent the operational backbone of the airline industry.”
Alongside its expertise in aviation, Accenture brings experience from sectors like finance, healthcare, and retail, where data privacy, regulatory compliance, and large-scale AI deployments are critical. Qatar Airways can tap into lessons learned beyond aviation to accelerate transformation.
