Apurva Mathur: Hello and welcome to our webinar, "From Legacy to Lift-Off: The New Era of Airline Retailing." I'm Apurva Mathur, Vice President of Strategic Accounts at DataArt, and I'll be guiding our discussion today as we explore the evolving landscape of airline retailing. This is the first in a new thought leadership series.
This is a forward-looking conversation on how to modernize airline systems and retailing strategies as technology evolves around us. As the traveling public increasingly expects to consume travel in an Amazon-like manner, our industry needs to examine the legacy systems that have served us well for decades and see how we can adapt to a modern technology stack, meeting the expectations of the next generation of travelers.
Before we begin, let me cover some housekeeping items. We'll engage in discussion for the next 45 minutes and leave the last 15 minutes for a Q&A session. Please feel free to post your questions in the chat; we'll try to cover as many as possible.
Let's get started. Today, I'm pleased to be joined by a distinguished panel of experts. Let me introduce my first guest, Sam Chamberlain, Chief Product Officer at Flier. Sam, could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Sam Chamberlain: Thank you, Apurva. I’m really happy to be here and to have this engaging discussion. As mentioned, I’m the Chief Product Officer at Flier, based in New York City. I’ve spent a little over 20 years in the travel industry, working both at airlines and with multiple software vendors. This has given me broad exposure to the industry's history and challenges.
My expertise covers pricing, revenue management, inventory management, booking and shopping, travel platforms, and now the offer and order management space. I’m focused on bringing innovation and change to the industry and excited to be part of this conversation.
Apurva Mathur: Thanks, Sam. Next, let me introduce Timothy O’Neil-Dunne, Strategic Advisor to DataArt. Timothy, could you tell us a little about yourself?
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: Sure. Good day, everyone, wherever you are. I’m the Principal of T2Impact and a Senior Advisor to DataArt. We’re a consulting group in aviation and travel, and I’m religiously focused on the customer. I think about the customer all day long. I’m also an aviation enthusiast. When I realized trains couldn’t fly, I shifted my focus to aviation.
It’s great to see such an illustrious audience today. I’m looking forward to this discussion. I should apologize to the audience that you’ll be hearing from two Brits today, but I’m very happy to be here.
Apurva Mathur: Thank you, Timothy. I think we can handle that. Let’s dive in. Today, we’ll cover three critical areas: the challenges posed by airline legacy infrastructure, strategies for modern, seamless integration of retailing, and the transformative role that AI plays in the new era of order retailing. Let’s get started with the first topic. Sam, what are the challenges of legacy systems and aging standards in the airline industry?
Sam Chamberlain: Thanks. The challenges can be summed up simply: things haven’t changed much, and change is hard. Systems haven’t really progressed in many years. The industry has experienced stagnation in technological innovation, and the software, technology, and standards environment in which airlines operate makes it difficult to adapt.
Meanwhile, everything else in society and business is moving quickly. The travel industry isn’t the only slow-moving industry, but it’s certainly noticeable to consumers and travel buyers that we’re not keeping up with modern retail standards and innovation.
Airlines deal with monolithic, aging technology built decades ago for a very different environment.
This makes it hard to move forward quickly, and innovation is stifled. Until recently, airlines have had to live with this slow pace of change, but now, with other industries moving so fast, airlines are getting tired of waiting. There’s a growing need to break down these barriers.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: I completely agree with Sam, but I’d add that as much as it’s about technology, it’s also about processes. Airlines tend to be risk-averse and siloed, which has led to ossified processes. While this has resulted in a very safe system, the consumer has evolved.
I’m a baby boomer, and I remember the first time I interacted with a reservation system—it was on a teletype printer. Now, we expect information instantly. Google has trained us to expect immediate answers, and the population has changed. Amazon, Alibaba, and others have taught us to want things now.
Legacy systems have served us well, but are they still fit for purpose? The industry generally agrees that we must move to offer and order management to respond to consumer demand. Today’s infrastructure doesn’t permit that, and the slow pace of standards development is a major factor holding us back.
Sam Chamberlain: The standards issue is interesting. Even when new standards are created to accelerate change, they often become bottlenecks themselves. Creating, rolling out, and adopting new standards takes a long time. For example, look at how long it took to get from the initial NDC concept to widespread adoption—over 13 years. Setting and adopting a standard are very different challenges, and the slow pace is no longer acceptable.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: Exactly. Annual updates were fine in the past, but now we have to adjust at the same speed as the consumer. AI is going to have a huge impact, but we’ll get to that later.
Sam Chamberlain: To give a real-world example: if you pay attention at the boarding gate, you’ll still see dot matrix printers being used today. That’s proof in plain sight that these old systems are still around us.
Apurva Mathur: I was at an airport just yesterday and saw flight plans still being printed on paper. Pilots come to the gate agent desk and collect reams of paper with flight plans and times.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: I always check the pilots when they board. If they carry a big satchel, I know it’s a paper-organized airline. If they have a laptop and an electronic flight bag, I feel safer. But today’s consumer no longer regards paper as safe—their phone is their safety net. Whatever we do must be data-driven.
Apurva Mathur: Let’s move on to the second topic. Now that we’ve discussed the challenges of legacy systems, what are the key modernization strategies for ensuring a seamless transition and coexistence with existing legacy systems? Timothy, could you start?
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: The critical thing is to approach the transition in layers. The industry decided to pursue twin change paths: moving from seat bucket-based inventory to decision-based virtualization and true offers that customers can accept. We can’t rely on the PNR anymore—it’s no longer fit for purpose. The challenge is to modernize how we interact with inventory to create true offers and orders.
Major providers like Amadeus, Sabre, and Farelogix are working on this, and I’m sure Sam can speak to what Flier is doing. If we don’t move in this direction, we face serious challenges.
Sam Chamberlain: Absolutely. A foundational question is: Why hasn’t the industry changed? Technology is ubiquitous and evolving rapidly—it’s not rocket science. The complexity comes from convoluted software and processes, not the subject matter itself.
Airlines are scared to make changes because they are anxious about touching monolithic systems. If something breaks, it can have serious consequences. The key is to break down these systems into manageable pieces, allowing airlines to adopt new technology incrementally rather than all at once. This requires open standards and a willingness to move beyond the “all eggs in one basket” mentality.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: I agree with splitting up monolithic systems into microservices. That’s how most modern systems are designed. However, turning legacy systems into microservices is no trivial matter. We also need to ensure everything is well-instrumented and that we can extract the right data to manage it.
Historically, airlines never bought everything from one vendor—there were always side systems. But these weren’t architected as layers; they were more happenstance. We need to build stronger architectures that support modularity, even though it can be expensive. The process must be driven by business needs, not just technology.
Sam Chamberlain: Even when airlines used multiple vendors, each piece was often more complex than necessary. Many solutions have been microservices-based under the hood, but not exposed externally. Making them modular isn’t always a huge technical leap—it’s often a business decision.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: Airlines, focused on efficiency and safety, have been reluctant to change. But many processes can be improved. For example, gate operations have become more efficient, and some airlines are even removing kiosks in favor of mobile solutions. The key is scrutinizing every process and asking, “Why do we need this?” Low-cost carriers like Ryanair have excelled at this, stripping away unnecessary complexity.
Sam Chamberlain: I agree. The question now is, “Why change now?” Airlines must see immediate value from modernization, not just the promise of future benefits. Early wins—especially in offer creation and personalization—can help drive change.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: Too often, airlines focus on themselves rather than the customer. We need to move, especially as AI becomes more important.
Apurva Mathur: Let’s discuss how AI plays a transformative role in airline retailing.
Sam Chamberlain: AI is more than a buzzword—it’s already solving problems we didn’t know we had. I see three main areas where AI adds value:
1. Data Volume: Airlines now have access to vast amounts of real-time data. AI models can leverage this to make smarter decisions, optimize revenue, and improve operations.
2. Automation and Tooling: AI-driven tools like chatbots and agents can assist customers throughout their journey, from shopping to disruption management.
3. Software Development: AI tools are improving the efficiency and quality of software development itself.
Personalization is a key benefit—AI can help airlines create tailored offers and experiences for individual passengers.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: I’d highlight the importance of service. Offer, order, settle, deliver—there’s a missing “S” for service. AI agents can preemptively address disruptions and optimize solutions for passengers. However, we must also manage the growing volume of AI-generated requests, which can strain airline infrastructure. Smart agents can help filter and manage these requests.
Sam Chamberlain: Interestingly, we’ll need to use AI to manage the challenges created by AI itself. And yes, applying AI to service and disruption management is critical. That’s where the real value is—making the change process frictionless for passengers.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: Some airlines are already investing in these areas, like baggage tracking. The goal is to arm customers with information and transparency, empowering them to make decisions. The future lies in smart agents that can communicate with humans and each other.
Sam Chamberlain: We’re making progress at Flier and across the industry. There’s a spotlight on how these innovations, including AI, will come together.
Apurva Mathur: The next generation of travelers expects this level of service, so we need to move quickly. Let me summarize our discussion. We looked at how legacy standards hold airlines back. We discussed transitioning to offer and order models without major disruption. We explored early wins, especially in the offer space. We examined the role of AI in modular architecture and speeding up development. Ultimately, we aim to build a single source of truth and future-proof our ecosystem. Thank you, Sam and Timothy, for an engaging discussion. Let’s open it up for Q&A.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: There’s a question about what airlines could do to be better retailers. Frankly, I don’t think airlines fully understand retailing yet. True retailing is what companies like Amazon and AliExpress do. Airlines do some merchandising, but not real retailing. Creating offers and taking orders is just the beginning. Retailing is about real-time promotions and having the right products on the shelf
We need brave leaders in the airline world. On the technology side, we’re building the architecture for modern retailing, but it requires significant change.
Sam Chamberlain: It’s easy for airlines to say they want to be next-generation digital retailers, but if you asked them what they’d sell, many wouldn’t have an answer. The foundational capability comes first: the ability to sell anything, seamlessly and at low friction. Someone needs to take the first step and manage the entire flow, not just selling but servicing non-air content.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: It’s not just about selling another ancillary. The focus should be on experiences—what Gen Z travelers want. My generation thought about destinations first; now, it’s about the experience. We need to be consumer-centric and deliver in real time. Trust is critical. Airlines need to become trustworthy retailers, delivering real value and honest service.
Sam Chamberlain: The most important thing is for airlines to prove they can improve the passenger experience incrementally, at first. They need to deliver on the promise of quality service and a better experience, handling complexity smoothly, especially when things go wrong.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: I’d go further: airlines should become the go-to place for travelers to achieve their goals. Today’s siloed approach has trained customers to go to different places, but they want a single, reliable source. New AI technologies can help us achieve this, but the value proposition must always be focused on the customer.
Apurva Mathur: Thank you, Henry, for joining and for your comments. We’re at the top of the hour. Thank you, Sam and Timothy, for this thought leadership discussion. Please continue the conversation, and we look forward to our next webinar in the series.
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne: Thank you. If you have questions or want to know more, please reach out to us through the DataArt team. We believe we can reach this “nirvana” faster than many expect. Sam, would you agree?
Sam Chamberlain: Absolutely. Things are getting faster, better, and easier. I appreciate the opportunity to have this great discussion.
Apurva Mathur: Thank you all.
