IBS Software enters airline retailing SCA with AWS

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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, a pioneering 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 full Offer–Order–Settle–Deliver (OOSD) value chain. Co-engineered by IBS Software and AWS, iRetail puts intelligence at the heart of every interaction, leveraging IBS Software’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 challenges 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 the next generation of 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, Hospitality and Travel Digital Strategies, 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 SCA with AWS, IBS Software will develop and scale iRetail globally, using AWS’s infrastructure to deploy workloads seamlessly across regions and support mission-critical airline operations with 99.99% availability in multiregion deployments.

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

Together, IBS Software and AWS aim to create an industry benchmark for airline retail modernisation, setting new standards for reliability, scalability and AI-driven innovation. Somit Goyal, CEO of IBS Software, said: “This is an incredibly exciting period and this collaboration marks an important step forward for airline retailing, 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."

Chris Branagan, Chief Technology Officer, IBS Software, added: “iRetail represents the culmination of deep co-engineering between IBS Software and AWS. It’s designed to operate in an agentic world where AI is not a feature, but the foundation of every decision – orchestrating offers, personalising every interaction, and continuously learning from data to maximise airline revenue and customer satisfaction.”

“At AWS, our partners drive innovation that transforms industries,” said Chris Casey, Director of AWS Partnerships, Asia Pacific & Japan, AWS, “Through this Strategic Collaboration Agreement with IBS Software, we’re combining AWS’s cloud and AI capabilities with deep industry expertise to build and scale new retailing capabilities for airlines worldwide. With AWS providing architectural guidance, technical resources and scalable infrastructure, this collaboration will help airlines modernise faster and deliver the personalised experiences travellers expect.”

Massimo Morin, Global Head of Travel, AWS said: “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.”