Aviation talks a lot about AI, but some airlines are turning that talk to action faster than others. United is among the leaders, using the tech to make their app more intelligent, keep ground staff informed, and deliver a better experience for customers.

At Aviation Festival Americas, we discussed the philosophy behind United’s successes so far with Kushal Pasari, the airline’s Global Head of AI/ML & Platforms Engineering. He says the AI drive is partly a reflection of changing customer behaviour, with large-language models driving more intent-based searches. In this evolving ecosystem, Pasari believes the role of the airline will also change:

Airlines are becoming more of a partner, a proactive concierge or travel desk rather than just a booking experience.

United have deployed several cutting-edge solutions to bring themselves into this role. New communications features in-app give passengers real-time updates on flight delays, which Pasari says have helped boost NPS scores by 6%. Additionally, gate agents are using an AI-powered connection-saving tool to ensure more customers make their next flight should their first be delayed. This investment has contributed to delivering over 54,000 connections that might otherwise have been missed.

The key to successfully testing and implementing AI? Pasari highlights the importance of effectively harnessing United’s vast reserves of data to deliver strong solutions to customers. But in aviation, the most important element will always be safety:

Safety is our number one priority. We experiment a lot, we do innovation a lot. But, we have to make sure that our use cases are secure and safe on the consumer side and employee side.

Looking to the future, United seeks to retain this competitive edge over its rivals through ongoing investment in AI. Agentic AI is the next frontier for development, and Pasari believes loyalty will become instrumental in helping airlines know their customers better to deliver the personalised, efficient service they increasingly expect.

🎥 Watch the video for the full interview with Kushal Pasari.

Questions asked include:

  • As customers become more familiar with AI, what behavioural shifts are we seeing in the way they like to book and experience air travel?
  • The aviation industry is now moving towards AI adoption rather than experimentation. What’s your philosophy to successful deployment of tech at United?
  • Which use cases of AI have generated the greatest ROI for United?
  • Looking to the future, where do you see AI going next? How can you use it to gain a competitive edge over other US carriers?

Join us at World Aviation Festival 2026 to hear from aviation’s leaders in AI adoption.

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