Amazon Web Services (AWS) is working with IBS Software to accelerate the modernisation of airline retailing, the systems and processes airlines use to design, price and sell their products and services across digital and physical channels.

The collaboration brings together IBS Software’s expertise in travel technology and airline commerce with AWS’s global cloud and AI capabilities to scale and advance innovation in this space, starting with the launch of iRetail, an AI-first retailing platform for the airline industry.

Unlike conventional airline retail systems, iRetail has been built from the ground up as an AI-first, modular and cloud-native platform that supports the offer–order–settle–deliver (OOSD) value chain. Co-engineered by IBS and AWS, iRetail puts intelligence at the heart of every interaction, leveraging IBS’s aviation retail intelligence and AI innovation with AWS services.

The platform powers self-curating product catalogues, real-time intent aware and hyper personalised offers, autonomous product-agnostic orders, seamless self-regulating settlement, and intuitive service delivery, all continuously evolving with traveller behaviour, helping airlines deliver more intuitive and personalised experiences at scale.

Today, many airlines struggle with fragmented legacy systems that limit innovation and hinder connected and personalised experiences. IRetail addresses these problems by providing a unified, data-driven foundation that modernises retail operations end to end, helping airlines innovate faster, operate more efficiently and maintain control of their technology roadmap, while preparing for future agentic AI.

“Legacy systems in the travel industry have often been a root cause of inefficiency and sluggishness regarding innovation,” said Dorothy Creamer, senior research manager at IDC. “The vast majority (97%) of hospitality and travel operators are investing in or exploring agentic AI. This pace of change indicates the hyper-focus on building solid, future-ready platforms. The collaboration between IBS Software and AWS provides the iRetail platform with a broad scope of benefits and intelligent use cases, alongside a solid foundation to rapidly adopt newer functionalities that will be driven by agentic AI. The iRetail platform will also benefit from the scalability, reliability and security that AWS offers.”

Under the agreement with AWS, IBS will develop and scale iRetail (www.ibsplc.com/product/airline-retailing) globally, using AWS’s infrastructure to deploy workloads seamlessly across regions and support mission-critical airline operations with 99.99% availability in multi-region deployments.

AWS will provide architectural guidance, development support and technical resources to accelerate iRetail’s design, deployment and scalability. IBS and AWS will also establish a joint R&D roadmap aimed at transforming the customer journey by unlocking numerous AI-first value streams by 2027, through IBS ‘s AI and data centre of excellence.

“This is an incredibly exciting period and this collaboration marks an important step forward for airline retailing,” said Somit Goyal, CEO of IBS Software. “Together with AWS, we’re helping airlines move towards a digital, intelligent and customer-centric model of commerce. This is not about layering AI on top of legacy systems; it’s about weaving intelligence deep into the core of airline retailing across the offer, order, settle, deliver journey. We’re setting new benchmarks for agentic innovation and helping airlines deliver smarter retail experiences.”

Massimo Morin, global head of travel at AWS (aws.amazon.com), added: “The travel industry is entering a new era where data, AI and cloud technologies are redefining how airlines engage with customers. Together with IBS Software, we’re helping airlines move from traditional retailing to intelligent, data-driven platforms that adapt in real time. By leveraging AWS AI services and our global infrastructure, we’re enabling faster innovation, greater agility and a foundation for the next generation of airline retailing.”

IBS Software (www.ibsplc.com) is a SaaS provider to the travel industry globally, managing mission-critical operations for customers in the aviation, tour and cruise, hospitality, and energy resources industries. It operates from 17 offices across the world.