Texas-based leading travel industry software and technology provider, Sabre, has been leveraging AI and ML for a while now. In a recent interaction with AIM, Sandeep Bhasin, VP (software engineering) at Sabre, said that internally, the company has introduced generative AI tools to approximately 800 software engineers, significantly enhancing productivity and innovation.
By leveraging generative AI, the company aims to improve the efficiency of its development processes and bring new products to market faster.
Apart from internally experimenting with AI, it recently unveiled SabreMosaic. This AI-powered modular platform shifts from the traditional PNR system to a modern offer and order approach and enables airlines to offer personalised and dynamic retail experiences.
Traditional airline processes relied heavily on the PNR to manage traveller information, but this system has struggled to evolve with the expansion of airline product offerings. The rise of modern retailers like Amazon has shifted traveller expectations towards personalised experiences.
“Travellers now expect the same level of personalisation from their travel providers as they have come to expect in other B2C retailing spaces,” added Bhasin.
This shift is driving airlines to adopt modern retailing platforms like SabreMosaic, which supports both PNR and Offer-Order systems. Offer-Order systems optimise and personalise travel offers, allowing airlines to sell a variety of products beyond just flight tickets.
“What excites me is how this dual support is crucial as airlines transition from being mere suppliers of seat inventory to modern retailers of diverse travel content,” he added.
The product is driven by the company’s suite of AI/ML-powered solutions called Sabre Travel AI, developed using Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform. The team also uses other models like multi-cloud data warehouse Big Query for its data lake.
Back in 2022, Sabre announced a 10-year-long partnership with Google to leverage its capabilities for new innovation. The former’s extensive travel data and this partnership will enable it to provide effective, data-driven recommendations.
Talking about the same, Bhasin said, “Our wealth of travel data gives us the advantage to leverage the power of data, often referred to as the new oil, to drive our analytical models.” This capability allows Sabre to offer real-time interaction and decision-making on a global scale.
The real-time capabilities of the model is another differentiator making interactions faster and instant.
Can AI Help in the Cancellation Crisis?
Even though the Indian aviation sector has seen remarkable growth over the past few years, with domestic air passenger traffic increasing by 13% annually to about 15.4 crore in 2023-24, major airline chains like IndiGo, Vistara, Air India, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet have faced challenges in maintaining flight schedules. As of the January-March 2024 period, flight cancellations and delays rose by 34%.
Given this current situation, where flight cancellations are more common than ever, AI and ML can play a crucial role in mitigating these disruptions. According to Bhasin, re-accommodation logic can manage flight disruptions more efficiently.
As Bhasin explained, “As airlines move further towards modern retailing, it will be important that a travellers’ personalised ‘bundle’ of products is kept together as an offer so that, even if disruption happens, the passenger still receives their expected ancillaries or experiences.”
Additionally, robust optimisation strategies and technology are essential for creating schedules and routes that are less prone to disruptions.
Aviation companies are already using AI, especially generative AI for customer experience. For example, Air India introduced AI.g, a virtual travel assistant, powered by ChatGPT on WhatsApp. Even IndiGo launched an AI chatbot called 6Eskai. Both the models are built on OpenAI’s GPT-4.
India as a Market
“The India centre plays a crucial role. In fact, a lot of our recent technology transformation initiatives, including our move to Google Cloud, were run out of the India centre,” commented Bhasin. This includes major initiatives like moving from mainframe systems to open systems and transitioning to cloud infrastructure.
The company has major GCCs in Krakow, Bengaluru, and Montevideo. In India, Air India is one of its largest customers along with various travel agencies and hotels. The Bengaluru Global Capability Center (GCC) plays a crucial role in driving technological transformation.
The Bengaluru GCC has been instrumental in these transformations, developing industry-leading solutions for the travel business and providing a strong IT backbone to global operations.
Bhasin highlighted, “Several products from our retail intelligence suite, along with the leadership team behind it, including our MLOps practice, are also based out of our Bengaluru GCC.”
The company’s retail intelligence suite includes AI and ML-powered products like Air Price IQ and Ancillary IQ, which offer personalised and optimised air prices and ancillary services. For example, Air Serbia and Chile-based LATAM air services have co-innovated with Sabre to bring these products to market, resulting in substantial revenue increases.
With Air Price IQ, our customers can expect up to a 3% revenue increase in flight revenue. With Ancillary IQ, it could be up to 10% of the overall ancillary revenue.
The Bengaluru GCC has been instrumental in these transformations, developing industry-leading solutions for the travel business and providing a strong IT backbone to global operations.
Several products from the Retail Intelligence suite, along with the leadership team behind it, including our MLOps practice, are also based out of the Bengaluru GCC. The company is currently in talks with these customers to implement Sabre Travel AI solutions.
“India is one of the most dynamic, complex, and fast-growing markets in the world right now, and it’s one of our key markets for 2024 and beyond. And our team in India is critical to our tech transformation and innovation efforts,” concluded Bhasin.
