LATAM and More American Airlines Using Artificial Intelligence to Improve Tasks and Customer Touchpoints

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LATAM and more American airlines are using artificial intelligence to improve tasks and customer touchpoints, reshaping travel with faster service, smarter support and smoother journeys.

LATAM and more American airlines are using artificial intelligence to improve tasks and customer touchpoints across travel. As a result, airlines are making customer service faster, travel planning smarter and disruption management easier. Moreover, artificial intelligence is helping automate routine tasks while supporting more personalised journeys. LATAM is improving touchpoints from planning to service, while American airlines are applying AI to rebooking, baggage, communication and digital support. Therefore, the shift is becoming impossible to ignore. The cause is rising demand for speed and convenience; the answer is smarter technology; and the reason is simple: airlines want better tasks, stronger customer touchpoints and smoother travel experiences.

Major American airline companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence not simply to automate isolated back-office tasks, but to improve customer touchpoints across the entire travel journey, from trip inspiration and booking to rebooking, flight updates, baggage tracking, airport navigation and disruption management. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines are each taking a different approach, while the wider shift could reshape how travel and tourism businesses combine automation, personalisation and human service.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from an experimental technology into a practical part of airline operations and customer experience, with the strongest examples now showing how AI can automate existing processes while making the customer journey easier, faster and more personalised. The trend is especially significant for the global travel and tourism industry because airlines sit at the centre of the journey, meaning improvements at one customer touchpoint can influence everything from trip planning and airport experiences to destination access, business travel and wider tourism spending.

Why Are Airlines Moving Beyond Simple AI Automation?

The latest airline strategies show that the real value of artificial intelligence is increasingly being found in connecting operational systems with customer needs, rather than merely using technology to complete repetitive tasks faster behind the scenes. Airlines are applying AI to existing processes such as rebooking disrupted passengers, predicting operational requirements, routing baggage, providing travel information and supporting customer service, with the ultimate aim of reducing friction at the points where travellers interact with the airline.

This represents an important change for travel and tourism because the customer does not experience an airline as a collection of separate departments, databases and operational systems, but as one continuous journey beginning with inspiration and continuing through booking, the airport, the flight, arrival and sometimes disruption. The companies examined here are therefore increasingly looking at how AI can support those moments individually and collectively, although the depth of implementation and the publicly documented use cases differ significantly from one airline to another.

LATAM Airlines Uses AI to Transform Customer Touchpoints Across Travel

LATAM Airlines is expanding its use of artificial intelligence across the customer journey, moving beyond traditional process automation towards a more personalised, autonomous and connected travel experience. The airline is applying AI and data analytics to help anticipate customer needs, resolve incidents faster and improve interactions from trip planning and customer service to disruption management and operational reliability. Its strategy closely reflects the growing transformation across global aviation, where technology is increasingly being designed around individual customer touchpoints.

LATAM Airlines AI Customer Touchpoint Map

From Travel Planning to Faster Customer Service

LATAM has introduced an AI-powered virtual travel planning agent that helps customers explore destinations, organise activities and obtain flight quotations, including options involving miles. The airline is also using AI-supported customer service tools, including natural-language self-service bots, automated handling of standard cases and systems designed to identify critical issues earlier, reducing friction while helping customers access faster support.

LATAM Airlines Bets on Corporate Travel Growth, Customer-Centric Technology and Premium Investment as GBTA 2026 Opens

Here is an exclusive interview with Mauricio Veloso, Managing Director of Corporate Sales & Strategy at LATAM Airlines, at the 2026 GBTA Convention in Chicago. LATAM Airlines is seeing continued growth in corporate travel demand and is responding by strengthening customer relationships, expanding its joint corporate proposition with Delta Air Lines, investing in premium cabins and connectivity, and redesigning parts of its organisation around the traveller journey.

In an exclusive interview at the 2026 GBTA Convention in Chicago, Mauricio Veloso, Managing Director of Corporate Sales & Strategy at LATAM Airlines, said the airline’s corporate demand had grown consistently in 2025 compared with 2024 and had continued to show solid growth so far in 2026.

According to Veloso, the continued recovery and expansion of face-to-face business travel remains evident despite the widespread availability of virtual meeting technology.

Corporate customers continue to fly. They continue to get in touch. Face-to-face meetings are always going to be needed.

The interview highlighted LATAM’s focus on corporate customers at a time when travel buyers are becoming increasingly cost-conscious, data-driven and demanding about the quality and reliability of the travel experience.

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Corporate Travel Demand Continues to Build

Veloso said LATAM had attended the GBTA Convention for several years and viewed the 2026 event as an important opportunity to meet corporate customers, travel agencies and technology partners.

His own role includes responsibility for global corporate sales, with LATAM having created a dedicated corporate customer department as part of a wider effort to build closer relationships with its most valuable business clients.

The strategy at the convention, he explained, was centred on direct interaction.

LATAM wants to meet corporate customers, listen to their feedback and better understand what they need from the airline. Veloso said the company had been building momentum with this segment and intended to continue that engagement throughout 2026.

For the airline, the message from the market is increasingly clear: technology may have transformed communication, but it has not eliminated the need for business travel.

Veloso said corporate demand continued to grow across LATAM’s markets, including South America, as companies still place value on travelling for in-person meetings and maintaining direct business relationships.

Cost Pressure Is Changing Corporate Travel Policies

One of the most significant shifts identified by Veloso is the growing financial pressure facing corporate travel buyers.

He said companies were particularly conscious of travel policies and costs in 2026. At the same time, they were demanding more information and data to support better travel decisions.

LATAM is therefore working with corporate customers as some reassess their existing travel policies.

Veloso noted that highly restrictive policies can create hidden costs, with companies beginning to recognise that limiting traveller options too severely may not always deliver the best financial outcome. LATAM’s approach is to support customers as they adapt their policies, while helping them find travel options that improve both cost efficiency and the overall journey.

This reflects a broader change in the corporate travel conversation. The focus is no longer simply on reducing the price of an individual ticket, but increasingly on understanding the wider operational and traveller costs associated with business trips.

Delta Joint Venture Builds Corporate Momentum

Veloso described LATAM’s joint venture with Delta Air Lines as fundamental to the airline’s strategy.

He said the partnership had already developed more than 250 joint corporate accounts in 2026 at the time of the interview, giving participating customers a single point of contact.

For corporate buyers managing travel between North and South America, this is intended to simplify engagement with the two airlines while supporting a more coordinated offering.

Veloso also pointed to route development and continued schedule adjustments as part of the partnership’s evolution. He said LATAM and Delta were working to optimise connections and provide corporate customers with stronger alternatives when travelling between North America and South America.

He identified routes launched during the previous year, although the transcription’s automated wording of some route names is unclear. For that reason, this report does not independently list those routes beyond what can be reliably supported by the interview transcript.

New Aircraft Expected to Support Longer Routes

LATAM is also preparing to receive new single-aisle aircraft in the coming months, according to Veloso.

He said the investment would allow the airline to operate longer routes with lower costs, while the aircraft would also feature a range of onboard products aimed at improving the passenger experience.

Veloso referred to business and premium seating, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and said LATAM expected the aircraft to help reduce travel times and improve connectivity for corporate customers.

He described the development as potentially significant for 2027, though no specific aircraft type or detailed deployment plan was clearly identified in the interview transcript.

AI Strategy Goes Beyond Automating Existing Processes

Looking ahead, Veloso said LATAM would continue investing in analytics and artificial intelligence across the organisation.

However, he stressed that the objective was not simply to automate existing processes.

Instead, the airline is rethinking how its organisation operates from the perspective of the customer journey. Veloso explained that travellers encounter multiple touchpoints, and LATAM wants its organisational structure and processes to become more closely aligned with those moments of interaction.

This customer-centric approach could become one of the airline’s most important strategic themes in the coming months and into 2027.

We are not using the technology just to automate the current processes. We are rethinking that and making sure that we think from the perspective of the customer.

The company wants the organisation to focus on and align with the key touchpoints experienced by customers throughout their journey.

More Than $360 Million Invested in Premium Business

Premium travel is another major investment area.

Veloso said LATAM had invested more than $360 million in new business-class suites featuring sliding doors, 18-inch screens and flat beds. He said some wide-body aircraft had already received the new cabin and that the airline planned to continue renovating and retrofitting additional aircraft.

He also said LATAM had invested more than $100 million in a new Premium Economy product that was expected to launch the following year, based on the timing of the interview.

Connectivity is also being expanded. Veloso said close to 100% of LATAM’s narrow-body fleet had Wi-Fi connectivity at the time of the interview, while installation was beginning on wide-body aircraft.

Together, these investments underline LATAM’s effort to compete not only on network connectivity but also on the quality of the onboard experience, particularly for corporate and premium travellers.

An Airline Reshaped by the Pandemic

Veloso, who said he has spent more than 17 years with the company, also reflected on how LATAM has changed over that period.

He said the pandemic had pushed the organisation to its limits but had also helped create a more agile company.

According to Veloso, LATAM previously had close to 55,000 employees, currently had approximately 42,000 to 43,000 employees, and had fallen to a much lower workforce level during the pandemic before rebuilding.

The airline has since placed considerable emphasis on organisational agility, people and organisational health, he said.

Another major change has been the increasing demands of corporate customers.

Business travellers and travel managers now expect more information, faster access to data and greater detail. They also expect journeys to work reliably, with travellers arriving at meetings and destinations on time.

For Veloso, this represents a significant shift from the corporate travel environment of 15 years ago. The airline’s response is to continue adapting its organisational structure and customer proposition around those expectations.

International Markets Require Deeper Relationship Building

Veloso also discussed the different dynamics of serving corporate customers across LATAM’s markets.

He suggested that relationship-building can require additional effort in international markets where the airline is less naturally embedded in the local business environment.

This means investing more time in customer relationships and working across different channels, including technology partners, while ensuring international corporate accounts receive the level of information and service they expect.

He said LATAM’s ambition was to maintain a strong corporate proposition both in markets where the company has a natural local presence and in international markets where customer relationships require more active development and nurturing.

What the Strategy Means for LATAM’s Corporate Future

The interview at GBTA 2026 presented a clear picture of LATAM’s corporate strategy: business travel demand remains important, corporate buyers are becoming more demanding, and the airline sees customer relationships, data, technology, premium products and network connectivity as interconnected priorities.

Rather than relying on one single initiative, LATAM is pursuing several changes simultaneously. Its work with Delta is expanding its joint corporate proposition, new aircraft are expected to support longer and more efficient routes, AI and analytics are being applied through a customer-journey lens, and major investment is continuing in premium cabins and onboard connectivity.

For corporate customers, the central objective is increasingly straightforward: better information, better coordination, greater flexibility and a more reliable journey from booking through to arrival.

As LATAM moves towards 2027, Veloso’s comments suggest that the airline’s next phase will be defined as much by organisational transformation and customer experience as by fleet and network growth.

A Customer-Centred AI Strategy

AI also supports personalised communications, proactive notifications, contact-centre analysis and data-driven operational processes, including maintenance optimisation that can improve aircraft availability and service reliability. Mauricio Veloso, LATAM Airlines’ Managing Director of Corporate Sales & Strategy, said the airline is not simply using technology to automate existing processes but is rethinking them from the customer’s perspective, aligning its organisation more closely with the touchpoints travellers experience throughout their journey.

How Is American Airlines Using AI Across the Customer Journey?

American Airlines provides one of the clearest examples of AI being used to enhance established processes while directly improving specific customer touchpoints, particularly when travel plans change unexpectedly. The airline says it has used machine learning for years to help customers see rebooking options on its website and mobile app, allowing passengers to identify alternatives and make changes more quickly when their journey is disrupted.

The approach is particularly important because rebooking is traditionally one of the most stressful stages of air travel, often requiring customers to search for alternatives, contact an agent or wait while an airline manages a large volume of disrupted passengers. By integrating machine learning into this existing process, American is using automation to improve a direct customer interaction rather than treating AI as a separate technological product.

American has also tested a generative AI-powered conversational assistant to help customers navigate changes to travel plans during weather disruption, adding another layer to its existing self-service options on its website and mobile application. The airline has further tested technology at major hubs that identifies departing flights carrying passengers who may miss connections and analyses whether a short hold could be proposed, enhancing a process that had previously depended more heavily on manual, case-by-case decisions.

That model demonstrates how AI can connect an operational decision with a customer outcome, because a system working behind the scenes may help more travellers reach their final destination on their originally booked itinerary. American is also using AI and machine learning in forecasting, crew planning, flight-time prediction and baggage-related models, showing that customer experience can be improved indirectly when automation strengthens the reliability and efficiency of the wider operation.

The airline is also exploring AI at the earliest stage of the journey through a generative AI-powered travel discovery tool designed to help customers explore destinations and plan trips around experiences rather than simply selecting places on a map. This expands AI’s potential role into trip inspiration, an increasingly important area for travel and tourism as airlines compete not only to sell seats but also to influence where, why and how customers choose to travel.

How Is Delta Air Lines Building an AI-Powered Travel Journey?

Delta Air Lines has developed one of the industry’s most ambitious public visions for using AI across connected customer touchpoints, combining an AI-powered assistant with operational systems designed to improve reliability. Its strategy is notable because it links front-end customer interactions in the Fly Delta app with back-end uses of AI in baggage routing, gate decisions and maintenance planning.

At the centre of the customer-facing strategy is Delta Concierge, an AI-powered assistant built into the Delta app and introduced in beta to selected SkyMiles members. The tool is designed to provide real-time and personalised support, including answers to travel questions, information about flights, seats and gates, personalised FAQs, eCredit information and baggage lookup and tracking.

Delta’s vision goes beyond answering simple questions, with the airline outlining a longer-term journey in which the technology can use context to provide proactive and personalised guidance before and during travel. Future capabilities described by Delta include assistance with airport wayfinding, international travel requirements and other travel-related information, illustrating how AI could increasingly act as a digital layer connecting different stages of the journey.

Behind the scenes, Delta is using AI models to route and distribute bags with short connection times, make gating decisions more efficiently and optimise the timing and frequency of maintenance tasks to improve reliability. These processes may not always be visible to the passenger, but they directly affect major customer touchpoints because a bag arriving on time, an aircraft reaching its gate efficiently and a more reliable flight all contribute to a smoother travel experience.

Delta has also described how its baggage AI uses real-time information including flight data, bag locations and connection times to optimise routes for ramp teams and prioritise bags facing the tightest connections. The airline said the technology had contributed to improved bag transfers, providing a concrete example of AI automation being deployed in an operational process with a measurable connection to the customer journey.

Airline-by-Airline AI and Customer Touchpoint Research

What Is United Airlines Doing With AI for Customers?

United Airlines is also positioning AI as a technology capable of improving customer and employee experiences, with its public reporting highlighting clearer communication, improved customer support and optimised travel experiences. The airline specifically identifies proactive flight updates and smart baggage tracking as examples of how artificial intelligence can create more meaningful benefits for travellers.

Communication is an especially important customer touchpoint because passengers often need information immediately when something changes, whether that involves a delay, gate adjustment, baggage issue or other operational development. AI can potentially help process information more quickly and present it to customers in a clearer and more relevant way, reducing uncertainty while also supporting airline employees who need to manage complex situations.

United also says AI-supported tools provide employees with real-time insights, optimise workflows and facilitate feedback, demonstrating that customer touchpoint transformation does not necessarily require every AI system to communicate directly with the passenger. In many cases, the technology can strengthen the people serving the customer, giving them faster access to information and allowing them to concentrate on the parts of the travel experience where human judgement and personal service remain most valuable.

For the travel and tourism sector, this is a significant distinction because the future of AI may be less about replacing human interaction than about improving the systems surrounding that interaction. Airlines handle enormous volumes of data and operational decisions, and using AI to organise information and automate suitable tasks could give employees more capacity to solve complicated customer problems when automated systems alone are insufficient.

How Is Alaska Airlines Using Generative AI for Travel Discovery?

Alaska Airlines has taken a particularly interesting approach by applying generative AI to the earliest customer touchpoint: discovering where to travel. The airline has demonstrated a generative AI-powered search experience designed to make destination discovery more personalised and intuitive, helping customers explore possible trips through a different kind of digital interaction.

Traditional airline search systems generally require customers to know important details before beginning their journey, particularly an origin, destination and travel dates, but generative AI can potentially make the experience more conversational and exploratory. This matters for tourism because travellers do not always begin with a fixed destination, and AI-assisted discovery could help airlines connect customer interests, preferences and travel possibilities before the booking decision is made.

The broader significance is that artificial intelligence could move airline websites from being primarily transaction platforms towards becoming more active travel planning environments. If AI can help a traveller discover destinations and understand possible options more naturally, airlines could influence tourism flows at the inspiration stage while making the path towards booking simpler for the customer.

What Do These Airlines Have in Common?

American, Delta, United and Alaska are pursuing different AI strategies, but a clear common pattern is emerging across their approaches: the technology is increasingly being connected to specific moments in the customer journey. American focuses strongly on areas such as rebooking, disruption management, connection protection and travel discovery, while Delta combines personalised app assistance with AI-powered operational improvements and United emphasises communication, support and smarter travel experiences.

Alaska’s approach highlights how generative AI can influence the planning and inspiration stage, demonstrating that the technology can have a role before a customer has even selected a destination. Taken together, these developments show how the airline industry is beginning to build AI into multiple touchpoints rather than limiting the technology to a single chatbot or back-office automation project.

What Does This Mean for the Wider Travel and Tourism Industry?

The implications extend far beyond airlines because air connectivity is one of the foundations of international travel and tourism, and a more efficient journey can influence traveller confidence and destination choice. When AI makes it easier to search for destinations, understand travel requirements, recover from disruption, track baggage or receive relevant information, it can reduce some of the friction that discourages or complicates travel.

For tourism destinations, hotels, airports, travel agencies and technology companies, the airline experience may also become an important benchmark for how customer journeys are designed. The strongest AI strategies are likely to be those that understand where a customer encounters uncertainty or inconvenience and use technology to provide useful support at that precise moment, rather than introducing AI simply because it has become a major industry trend.

There is also a major business travel dimension, particularly as corporate customers demand more data, better information and smoother journeys. Airlines that use AI to support existing processes such as rebooking, connection management and communication could potentially help travel managers and business travellers reduce disruption-related costs while giving employees greater control over their journeys.

Anup Kumar Keshan, Editor-in-Chief, Travel And Tour World, on the AI Opportunity

“Artificial intelligence is opening a highly positive new chapter for the global travel and tourism industry because its greatest value is not simply speed or automation, but its ability to understand the traveller journey and improve every meaningful touchpoint. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines are showing that technology can make travel planning more intuitive, disruption management more responsive, baggage services more reliable and customer communication more relevant. The future should combine intelligent automation with human care, allowing airlines and tourism businesses to remove unnecessary friction while giving travellers greater confidence, convenience and personalisation throughout their journeys.”

The opportunity now is to ensure that AI is deployed responsibly and with a clear customer purpose, particularly as airlines handle sensitive personal and travel information across multiple digital systems. The companies that achieve the strongest results may ultimately be those that treat AI not as an end in itself but as an enabling technology that makes travel and tourism easier while preserving the trust, transparency and human support passengers expect.

The Bigger Shift Is From Automation to Customer-Centred AI

The most important development emerging from the airline sector is the movement from basic process automation towards a more customer-centred model of artificial intelligence. Instead of asking only which internal tasks can be automated, airlines are increasingly asking how technology can improve the experience when a traveller searches for a destination, books a trip, checks flight details, navigates an airport, faces a disruption or waits for baggage.

American Airlines offers perhaps the clearest evidence of AI enhancing established processes directly connected to rebooking and connections, while Delta demonstrates how operational AI and personalised digital support can work together across the travel journey. United is focusing on communication, support and optimisation, and Alaska is showing how generative AI can reshape travel discovery itself, creating a broad picture of where the airline industry may be heading next.

For travel and tourism, the direction is increasingly clear: artificial intelligence is becoming most valuable when it appears at the right moment, with the right information, while solving a real customer problem. The technology may operate invisibly behind baggage systems, flight operations and forecasting models or appear directly through an app-based assistant, but the common objective is to create a journey that feels more connected, reliable and personal.

Airlines face growing customer expectations, complex operations and pressure to improve efficiency without making travel more difficult. Answer: Artificial intelligence is being introduced to automate routine tasks, analyse data faster and improve customer touchpoints, including planning, rebooking, communication and baggage support. Reason: Travellers increasingly expect immediate information, personalised options and quicker solutions when problems arise. Consequently, LATAM and American airlines are connecting AI with existing systems instead of treating it as a separate experiment. This approach can reduce friction, support employees and improve service reliability. Ultimately, the technology is becoming a practical tool for creating more responsive, efficient and customer-focused travel journeys.

LATAM and more American airlines are proving that artificial intelligence is becoming an important part of modern aviation. From automated tasks to smarter customer touchpoints, AI is changing how airlines support travellers before, during and after a journey. LATAM’s strategy focuses on rethinking processes from the customer’s perspective, while American airlines are applying similar technology to rebooking, travel planning, baggage, communication and personalised assistance. However, the biggest opportunity lies in using AI to solve genuine customer problems rather than simply automating everything. As technology develops, the airlines that successfully combine intelligent systems, reliable operations and human support could create the strongest travel experiences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which American airline is using AI most extensively for customer touchpoints?

Based on the publicly documented examples examined, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines currently provide the most detailed evidence of AI being applied across multiple customer touchpoints. American has documented uses in rebooking, disruption support, connection management and travel discovery, while Delta combines Delta Concierge with AI-supported baggage routing, gate decisions and operational reliability.

How does American Airlines use AI during flight disruptions?

American has used machine learning to help customers see rebooking options on its website and mobile app, and it has tested a generative AI conversational assistant to support customers dealing with weather-related delays and cancellations. It has also tested technology that identifies passengers at risk of missing connections and can propose short flight holds when operationally feasible.

What is Delta Concierge?

Delta Concierge is an AI-powered assistant within the Delta app that has been introduced through a phased beta rollout, providing selected users with personalised, real-time travel support. Its documented capabilities include answering travel questions, providing flight, seat and gate information, personalised FAQs, eCredit information and baggage lookup and tracking.

How does AI improve airline baggage handling?

AI can analyse real-time operational data to help airlines prioritise and route bags, especially those with tight connections, allowing teams to focus on the most urgent transfers. Delta has publicly described its AI-powered baggage technology as using flight data, bag locations and connection times to optimise routes and improve transfer performance.

How is Alaska Airlines using generative AI?

Alaska Airlines has demonstrated a generative AI-powered destination search experience designed to make travel discovery more personalised and intuitive. The approach focuses on helping customers explore and discover destinations more easily through its customer-facing digital platforms.

Will AI replace human airline customer service?

The publicly documented strategies of these airlines suggest that AI is primarily being used to automate suitable tasks, provide faster information and support employees rather than eliminate human service entirely. American says AI is intended to strengthen human decision-making, while Delta and United also describe technology as supporting their people and improving the overall customer experience.