Jorge Saco was appointed Chief Information, Procurement, Services and Innovation Officer at International Airlines Group (IAG) – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub – in July 2023. IAG, whose member airlines include British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL, is on an impressive transformation journey as FTE reported in this exclusive article – not only of its own operations, but also how our industry operates. It is collaborating with its airport partners on a wide range of trials, covering robotics & automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning, biometrics & digital identity, personalisation, collaboration with startups, sustainability, private networks & Internet of Things (IoT), and much more across the ramp, lounges and accessibility.
British Airways’ recently-announced £7 billion transformation plan, for example, aims to deliver a world-class CX including a more personalised digital experience.
IAG’s digital transformation efforts are also a focus of Hangar 51, the innovation team at IAG, which is helping test and scale high-impact emerging technologies across the group.
Robotics and automation are key focus areas for IAG and the overarching technology underpinning IAG’s innovation efforts is AI. Its efforts in this space are undoubtedly among the most impressive FTE has seen. The recently-created IAG.ai has received significant investment, with a lab in London and plans to open another in Barcelona, as well as further locations to accelerate innovation. Among IAG.ai’s developments are an internal generative AI, which has already been rolled out to 50 innovators and produced visible productivity gains. IAG is also part of the Microsoft 365 Early Access Program, trialling generative AI across Microsoft 365 platforms.
It is clear that IAG is on a very exciting journey and has AI, startups and collaboration right at the top of its agenda.
While a number of members of the IAG innovation teams are contributing to digital transformation efforts, as Chief Information, Procurement, Services and Innovation Officer, Jorge Saco is recognised on the Power List for his technology-focused leadership.
