AI Predict Gives Business Travellers 95% Flight Delay Warnings Before It’s Too Late

Written By: Tuhin Sarkar

Tuhin Sarkar

Tuhin Sarkar is a Senior Journalist at Travel and Tour World with more than 10 years of experience in travel and tourism journalism. A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Jadavpur University, he combines strong research, industry knowledge and storytelling expertise to produce engaging, insightful and impactful travel news and fascinating feature stories.

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September 5, 2026 1:09 AM

A 95% flight delay warning could change how business travellers respond when a journey starts going wrong. AI Predict is designed to give travellers an early signal before it’s too late, allowing them to consider alternatives while options remain available.

The service, presented by Altour, sends predictive text messages to travellers who choose to opt in. Moreover, the prediction begins after flight check-in and typically covers the final 24 hours before departure. In one real-world example, an AI Predict warning indicated a 95% likelihood of delay on a LaGuardia flight. The traveller then explored an alternative from Newark and reached home as planned.

Altour is using artificial intelligence to help business travellers respond to flight disruption before a delay or cancellation derails an important trip. Its AI Predict service sends opted-in travellers predictive text alerts, giving them an opportunity to change plans sooner.

AI Predict Brings Flight Disruption Forecasting to Business Travel

Speaking exclusively with Travel And Tour World at the Travel Tech Show, Altour’s Senior AI Business Transformation Manager, Laura Shores, explained how the company is applying AI to corporate travel.

Altour is a travel management company that provides services for corporate travel programmes. Its technology offering, described in the interview as Altour Intelligence, combines AI-powered products with human-led travel services.

Among its capabilities are travel programme consolidation, duty-of-care services, flight-delay prediction, trip-disruption support and AI-powered reporting.

One of the products highlighted during the interview was AI Predict, a service designed to provide business travellers with advance predictions about potential flight disruption.

The concept is straightforward: travellers opt into the service and receive text messages containing predictions about their flight.

Rather than waiting until an airline officially announces a disruption, the traveller can receive an earlier warning and potentially use that information to consider alternatives.

How Altour AI Predict Works

According to Shores, AI Predict begins making its prediction when the traveller checks in for the flight.

This means the service is particularly focused on the final stage of the journey, with predictions typically available around 24 hours before the flight.

The system is intended to give travellers additional time to react when a flight appears likely to be delayed or cancelled.

That distinction is important. AI Predict does not eliminate flight disruption, nor does the interview claim that every prediction will be correct. Instead, the service is designed to give travellers an additional source of predictive information that can help them make decisions before disruption becomes unavoidable.

For corporate travellers, even a relatively short warning window can be valuable.

A Real-World New York Example

Shores provided a personal example of how the technology can work in practice.

While travelling in New York, she received an AI Predict warning indicating that her flight from LaGuardia Airport had a 95% probability of being delayed.

Because she received the prediction in advance, she was able to consider another option.

Shores knew that a flight was departing from Newark at approximately the same time. Acting on the early warning, she was able to reach the alternative flight, get the last aisle seat, and travel home at roughly the same time she would have if her original journey had operated as planned.

The example illustrates the potential value of predictive disruption information: the biggest benefit may not be avoiding a delay altogether, but getting enough notice to find another route while alternatives are still available.

Why Flight Predictions Matter for Corporate Travel

Flight delays and cancellations can have consequences far beyond the airport.

For leisure travellers, a disruption can mean a missed connection, changed plans or a later arrival. For business travellers, the consequences can include missed meetings, delayed negotiations, lost sales opportunities and additional travel costs.

Shores explained that a traveller heading to an important meeting or sales presentation may need to arrive at a specific time. If an airline delay or cancellation threatens that schedule, receiving information early can allow the traveller to change flights and protect the business commitment.

That is where predictive technology can become particularly relevant to corporate travel management.

A traveller who learns about a problem only after an airline cancellation has been formally announced may find that alternative flights are already filling up.

An earlier warning can create a larger decision-making window.

From Disruption Alerts to Business Continuity

The value of such technology is therefore closely connected to business continuity.

A corporate travel programme is not simply about booking flights and hotels. Companies also need to consider employee safety, traveller support, costs, productivity and the ability of employees to reach important destinations.

Altour says its wider technology offering addresses several of these areas.

The interview also highlighted duty of care, flight-delay prediction, trip-disruption services and AI-powered reporting. The reporting capabilities can provide companies with information concerning areas such as return on investment and travel spend.

Together, these functions point towards a broader role for AI in corporate travel management.

Instead of using technology solely to complete a booking, travel management platforms are increasingly being positioned as tools that can help companies manage what happens before, during and after a journey.

Human Support Remains Part of the Model

Despite the focus on artificial intelligence, the interview did not present Altour’s offering as an entirely automated travel system.

Shores described Altour Intelligence as consisting of multiple AI-powered products alongside human-led services.

That combination is significant for business travel, where disruption can involve complex circumstances that require more than an automated notification.

An AI prediction may alert a traveller to a potential problem, but the subsequent response can involve selecting another flight, changing an itinerary, managing costs or addressing a company’s travel policy.

The technology can therefore serve as an early-warning layer while travel management expertise remains important for handling the wider journey.

Personalisation Is Another Focus

Shores also said Altour’s offering is highly customisable, with customers interested in understanding how the products can enhance their corporate travel programmes.

The company’s services extend beyond flight disruption into booking travel, expenses and travel spend.

For corporate customers, customisation can be important because travel programmes differ significantly between organisations.

A multinational company with frequent international travel may have very different requirements from a smaller organisation whose employees primarily travel domestically.

The ability to combine predictive disruption information with broader travel-management services could allow companies to build a more integrated approach to business travel.

AI Could Change How Travellers Respond to Disruption

The example from New York demonstrates a key shift in the way AI can be used in travel.

Traditional disruption management is often reactive. A flight is delayed or cancelled, and the traveller then searches for an alternative.

Predictive systems attempt to move part of that process earlier.

The objective is not necessarily to predict every disruption perfectly. Rather, it is to provide information that can support earlier decisions.

For a business traveller, that difference can be significant. The availability of an alternative flight can change rapidly, particularly on busy routes. Knowing about a potential problem while seats remain available can provide options that disappear later.

What Altour’s AI Predict Means for Business Travellers

The interview shows how AI is being applied to a very specific pain point within corporate travel: the uncertainty surrounding flight disruption.

AI Predict starts making predictions after flight check-in and can provide information during the approximately 24-hour period before departure. Travellers who opt into the service receive the predictions by text message.

The real-world example shared by Shores suggests how that information could help a traveller make a faster decision when an important journey is at risk.

However, the technology should be understood as a predictive support tool rather than a guarantee. A prediction of disruption does not mean the disruption is certain, and the interview does not claim that AI Predict can prevent delays or cancellations.

Its potential value lies in giving travellers an earlier signal and therefore more time to respond.

Altour is bringing AI deeper into corporate travel management by using predictive technology to warn opted-in travellers about potential flight disruption.

Its AI Predict service begins making predictions after check-in and typically operates within the final 24 hours before departure, delivering information through text messages.

The New York experience described by Laura Shores demonstrates the practical scenario: an early warning about a high probability of delay gave her the opportunity to switch from LaGuardia to an alternative flight from Newark and still get home at approximately the same time.

For business travellers, that extra decision-making time could be valuable when a delayed flight threatens a meeting, presentation or other important business commitment.

More broadly, Altour’s approach reflects the growing role of AI in travel management — not simply booking journeys, but helping travellers and companies anticipate problems and respond before disruption becomes a larger business issue.

The cause is simple: flight delays can disrupt meetings, sales presentations and other time-critical business commitments. AI Predict addresses this problem by providing business travellers with predictive alerts through text messages. The answer is earlier information. Instead of waiting for a confirmed disruption, an opted-in traveller can receive a warning and assess alternatives while seats may still be available. The reason is equally practical. More time can mean more choices. In the interview, a 95% flight delay warning helped a traveller consider a Newark departure after a LaGuardia flight was predicted to be delayed. However, the service provides predictions, not guarantees.

AI Predict highlights how artificial intelligence could give business travellers more control when flight disruption threatens a journey. Its 95% flight delay warning example demonstrates the potential value of receiving information before it’s too late. Rather than waiting for a final cancellation or delay announcement, an opted-in traveller can receive a predictive text message and consider another option. The service begins making predictions after flight check-in and typically operates within the final 24 hours before departure. That timing can matter when a traveller has a meeting, sales presentation or other important commitment. In the interview, the 95% prediction concerning a LaGuardia flight gave the traveller time to consider a Newark alternative. Importantly, the interview does not claim that AI Predict guarantees disruption avoidance. Its role is to provide an earlier signal. For business travel, that extra warning could create valuable time to make informed decisions.