AI Agents 2026: Turning Travel Gaps Into Revenue
Skift report highlights how AI agents help airlines maintain customer connections across journeys, transforming gaps between trips into loyalty and revenue.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Over 60% of travelers aware of AI are already using it to plan trips.
- AI agents retain context over time to turn isolated interactions into lasting relationships.
- Airlines must integrate AI with existing systems like PSS, CRM, and loyalty platforms.
- Disruption handling allows AI to reach out to passengers before call center queues build.
As the path to purchase grows increasingly complex, a recent Skift Research survey of nearly 7,000 travelers shows that trip discovery now spans search engines, social media, and AI tools. More than 60% of those aware of AI are already utilizing it to plan their travels, while actual bookings remain concentrated in channels where price, trust, and payment flexibility are paramount.
The primary challenge for airlines is maintaining customer relationships across this fragmented journey. Although customer-facing AI agents can already manage individual service tasks such as answering queries, altering reservations, and resolving issues, the emerging opportunity lies in extending that value over time by carrying context forward from one conversation to the next.
The ability of AI agents to retain customer context across months represents a major shift from traditional session-based chatbots. Integrating these tools with backend systems like PSS and CRM allows airlines to build deeper customer understanding, though it also introduces critical data privacy and consent considerations.
Zahnlecker describes today’s travel discovery landscape as a series of one-way touchpoints where travelers browse a webpage, scroll feeds, or compare OTAs and move on. AI agents transform these isolated points into ongoing dialogues by picking up where the traveler left off or proactively initiating contact when relevant signals emerge.
"Fundamental to that is memory and context. What do you know about the customer? What do you remember from prior interactions? That’s what allows you to move from a conversation to a lasting relationship."
Zahnlecker
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Travel rarely occurs in a single sitting, often involving days of planning, weeks or months between booking and departure, and long stretches between trips. An agent equipped with relevant context can recall preferences, resume previous discussions, and anticipate what travelers might need next.
Furthermore, these systems can operate across multiple channels seamlessly. Zahnlecker notes that a traveler on a phone call could request to switch channels to text messaging, allowing the conversation to continue without interruption.
Disruption management serves as a critical test case for airlines. When storms or cancellations occur, a long-running agent can act on disruption signals and reach out to passengers proactively before contact center queues become overloaded, balancing passenger priorities against airline regulations in real time.
The agent's utility extends past rebooking into handling eligible reimbursement claims and monitoring inventory for preferred seating. Treating a disruption as a single continuous journey rather than fragmented interactions is often the deciding factor in retaining customer loyalty.
Source: Skift
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