Airlines are turning to AI to manage flight disruptions and rebook passengers but giving AI greater autonomy could leave travellers with limited visibility over decisions affecting their journeys.
The issue recently hit headlines when American Airlines’ automated system rebooked passengers on delayed flights without their knowledge. According to Simple Flying, the system predicted that some passengers would miss a connection and rebooked them on another flight, even though they ultimately arrived in time for their original flight.
Ann Cederhall, Travel Technology Specialist at LeapShift, said AI could bring significant benefits to airline rebooking, which is a complex and time-consuming process. However, she questioned the decision to give it full authority to make rebooking decisions without human involvement.
She argued that airlines should instead introduce the technology in a controlled way, closely monitoring its performance before allowing it to operate with greater autonomy.
“There are disadvantages to using AI when it is not done with the human in mind, and when there is no pragmatic, customer-centric approach,” said Cederhall
The case for automation
However, she said airlines could benefit from AI-driven rebooking systems, particularly as outdated infrastructure made voluntary and involuntary rebookings more difficult to manage.
“The infrastructure is extremely archaic so both voluntary and involuntary rebookings can be complex. Involuntary rebookings are more challenging as you are dealing with an entire aircraft of passengers that need to be rebooked, which takes a lot of time.”
Rebooking is a task handled by airline staff but automation could help them manage large numbers of rebookings more efficiently, potentially reducing the burden on staff and speeding up solutions for passengers.
However, Cederhall said the technology could also make incorrect predictions.
“The AI’s prediction may be that you’re going to lose your connection so you’re safely rebooked. The system is doing what it should be doing, but the problem is when the flight catches up and lands on time.”
She said United’s new functionality addressed that, giving passengers greater control when an automated system made such a decision. The airline allows passengers who are rebooked to place themselves on standby for up to three earlier flights, giving them visibility over the rebooking process.
Looking ahead, Cederhall said she expected major improvements to AI to better manage disruptions.
“I see massive improvements – you can get stuff actioned so much quicker than the human capacity as it's all about data and speed.”
However, she said airlines should be wary of becoming overly enthusiastic without first considering how the technology would work within their existing systems and whether it improved the customer experience.
