Air New Zealand Enters New Era Of AI Adoption With OpenAI In A New Zealand First

Air New Zealand is working with OpenAI in a first-of-its-kind collaboration in Aotearoa to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across the airline, aiming to boost efficiency and enhance customer outcomes.

The national carrier is part of a group of early OpenAI customers in Asia Pacific that will collaborate with the AI leader at the forefront of enterprise AI adoption.

As part of the collaboration, Air New Zealand will gain direct access to OpenAI technologies to develop and apply use cases, and equip its people across corporate roles with secure, enterprise-grade AI tools.

Early areas of exploration include improving customer self-service experiences and enabling safe, responsible integrated planning across airline maintenance and operations. Air New Zealand is also looking into how data-driven insights can help employees make more informed operational decisions.

The agreement gives Companion AI – Air New Zealand’s deployment of ChatGPT Enterprise – to all 3,500 corporate team members across the airline. Additionally, Air New Zealand will also invest in developing innovative new solutions using OpenAI APIs to enhance both customer and employee experiences with Generative AI.

Implementation of OpenAI’s technology is already underway, driving smarter, faster decisions and creating lasting value for the Air New Zealand team and its customers.

Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Nikhil Ravishankar says the collaboration marks a major milestone in the airline’s digital journey.

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“We see AI as an opportunity for our team at Air New Zealand and a way to improve experiences for our customers. It helps us solve problems faster, serve our customers better, and reimagine how work gets done. By working directly with OpenAI, we not only access leading-edge technology but we also shape how it’s used in the real world.

“This collaboration represents more than just access to new tools – it’s a commitment to staying at the forefront of innovation and giving our people the best technology to thrive. We’re excited to see how AI will transform the way we work.”

“Air New Zealand is taking meaningful steps to bring AI across key parts of its business using OpenAI’s technology. We have been particularly impressed with how quickly they have built over 1,500 Custom GPTs to introduce efficiencies to internal workflows.Their focus on innovation and responsibility shows how the aviation sector can adopt advanced tools in practical ways that deliver value for both employees and customers”, Oliver Jay, Managing Director of International at OpenAI, added.

A Custom GPT in ChatGPT allows anyone – developers, teams, or enterprises – to create tailored AI assistants using GPT models. It enables users to define the AI’s personality, tone, and specialised knowledge base, and integrate proprietary data or workflows. This makes it possible to build AI solutions for specific industries, company needs, or creative applications without requiring advanced coding expertise.

Throughout this journey, Air New Zealand remains deeply committed to the responsible and ethical use of AI, ensuring that innovation is aligned with strong governance, transparency, and care for customers and employees.

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