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6d ago

Riyadh Air and IBM Unveil AI‑Native Airline Built on Watsonx

The Saudi carrier detailed an IBM watsonx‑based platform ahead of a planned commercial debut in early 2026.

Riyadh Air is aiming to transform both employee and passenger interactions by using generative and agentic AI across its systems. Image: Shutterstock
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Overview

  • Riyadh Air rebranded its multiyear IBM partnership as an AI‑native program at IBM Think Riyadh 2025, positioning AI at the core of airline operations from day one.
  • IBM says the stack uses watsonx.ai, Orchestrate and governance on Red Hat OpenShift hosted on Microsoft Azure, with NVIDIA A100 and H200 GPUs powering fine‑tuned large language models trained on Riyadh Air data.
  • The collaboration spans 59 workstreams and more than 60 partners, including Adobe, Apple, FLYR, Microsoft and Oracle, coordinated through IBM Consulting Advantage.
  • Planned capabilities include a chat‑first digital workplace, an agentic AI concierge for staff, context‑aware mobile tools for crews, and AI voice bots that anticipate traveler needs.
  • Initial test flights are underway and first commercial service is targeted for early 2026 after earlier plans slipped due to Boeing manufacturing delays.