Last year, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom made it clear that he was skeptical of airlines using AI for fare pricing. That doesn’t mean that American Airlines is avoiding using AI in its operations altogether. In a recent interview with Skift, American Airlines’ vice president of digital customer experience, Sam Liyanage, spelled out several of the areas in which the airline was using AI — and where they were most satisfied with this technology.
Liyanage was most specific when discussing the the airline’s use of generative AI to help travelers decide on a destination. “Travel is shifting from rigid filters to natural, conversational intent,” he told Skift. “Travelers are searching for highly specific scenarios, and we are seeing that firsthand in our GenAI-powered search tool.” One example he cited: “somewhere warm under $800.”
He also offered more specificity — though he did not provide specifics on how many customers are using American’s AI-based search tool as opposed to more traditional flight searches. “Early use shows customers asking more complex, more personal questions — often blending budget, loyalty, timing, and experience in a single prompt — and engaging more deeply with results because the tool translates all the complexity into simple, confident choices,” he said.
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Frequent travelers will have access in mid-December 2025The other main area that Liyanage cited AI as being influential in has to do with flight scheduling and logistics. “Today, with AI, the system analyzes live operational conditions — from weather to taxi times to gate availability — and helps our team take quick, informed action to protect the customer’s journey,” he told Skift. Will the airline’s use of AI translate into more satisfied customers? We may have an inkling of that when J.D. Power releases its annual North America Airline Satisfaction Survey this May.
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