Air New Zealand and FLYR Labs agree AI applications partnership

Partners will build products to improve commercial operations on the Cirrus platform

by Avery Ketcherside

Air New Zealand and developer FLYR Labs are to team up to build Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications on the Cirrus software platform.

The airline and FLYR Labs have worked together since 2020, but under the new agreement will enhance Air New Zealand’s commercial operations through AI-powered products.

FLYR Labs data science and software development teams will join other employees as they co-locate out of Air New Zealand’s headquarters in Auckland in the new year.

Michael Williams, Air New Zealand group general manager for commercial, strategy and alliances says the airline has been working to build back a better business from the pandemic.

Williams said: “The Cirrus software platform has been key in optimising our capacity and schedule planning, providing efficiencies for both our team and our customers.

“The next stage on our journey is looking to how we can use the software to further enhance our digital capabilities across the business.

“This alliance is also incredibly exciting for our people, who will have the opportunity to develop and implement software that’s leading the way in innovation in the aviation industry.”

Alex Mans, founder and chief executive officer of FLYR Labs, added: “FLYR Labs has worked alongside Air New Zealand to demonstrate how our Cirrus platform can improve passenger load forecasting and, by doing so, optimize revenue outcomes.

“It is very gratifying to announce that we have formalized the relationship with Air New Zealand and intend to work alongside their team to partner on the creation of additional solutions.”

The tech provider also works to leverage advanced AI for airline’s revenue management. FLYR’s Cirrus software platform improves performances across commercial functions and clarifies operation decisions concerning marketing, scheduling, planning, executive leadership, and air cargo.

FLYR Labs recently completed a $150m Series C funding round led by Laurence Tosi’s WestCap, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo, Silver Lake, Peter Thiel, and others.

Prior to this, FLYR Labs acquired Faredirect to include offerings, such as personalized seat, meal, baggage offerings, and xCheck for its marketing technology tools.