American Airlines Selects Microsoft as Preferred Cloud Platform

FORT WORTH, Texas, and REDMOND, Wash. — American Airlines and Microsoft are partnering to accelerate the airline’s digital transformation.

Under the partnership, American Airlines will use Microsoft Azure as its “preferred” cloud platform for airline applications and key workloads, according to the companies last month.

The partnership is intended to help American use technology to create better and more connected experiences for customers as well as American Airlines team members, supporting the airline’s operations. 

The relationship makes Microsoft one of American’s largest technology partners.

See more: Top Cloud Service Providers

The partners believe customers expect their travel experience to “mimic the rest of their lives,” being connected, personalized, and on demand.

American and Microsoft plan to use data and digital technologies to meet customer demands, while streamlining business processes to give American team members the tools to enable a smoother travel experience for customers. 

For example, the partners envision “every aspect of the customer experience and airline operations will be optimized,” using advanced analytics and digital technologies: from enhanced bag tracking and automatic rerouting of flights based on weather conditions to using digital twins to simulate operations at major hubs and adjust to increase efficiencies.

See more: Boeing Partnering With Microsoft for Digital Transformation

“As the airline industry continues to transform, building a digital technology foundation in the cloud will be essential for future resilience,” said Judson Althoff, EVP and chief commercial officer, Microsoft.

Althoff said American Airlines is taking a “forward-thinking, cloud-first approach to using data, AI, and our collaboration platforms.”

Reliably operating thousands of flights around the world is “critical to American, which is why the airline has chosen Microsoft’s technology to support our applications,” said Maya Leibman, CIO, American Airlines.

Leibman expects Microsoft Azure can help American “innovate and accelerate its technology transformation.”

See more: Microsoft Azure: Cloud Portfolio Review