Industry
Travel and Logistics
Data and AI in Travel Industry for a Memorable Passenger Experience
HIGHLIGHTS
- For 30 years, British Airways (BA), in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has fuelled continuous innovation and digital transformation, laying a strong and resilient foundation for growth. This growth is backed by a strong digital foundation consisting of a resilient cloud platform and an insightful data platform.
- TCS has partnered in a broad spectrum of initiatives in the airline’s customer and commercial operations, and new distribution capabilities. During these transformations, the partnership ensured a secure, scalable, and future-ready digital backbone that keeps the airline at the forefront of digital capability.
- The partnership now focuses on redefining customer and operational frontiers by embedding data, artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligence at scale, creating a more agile and efficient information technology (IT) ecosystem.
On this page
The partnership
British Airways (BA), a global airline, is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom.
BA operates in passenger, cargo, and maintenance segments, with over 290 aircraft connecting over 200 destinations in 75 countries, taking more than 1,00,000 passengers to their destinations each day.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a trusted and long-term partner, has been proud to be instrumental in BA’s ongoing journey of growth and innovation. Together, we’ve worked to enhance key areas such as airline operations, customer experience, commercial strategy, and distribution capabilities, helping the airline deliver even greater value to its passengers and partners.
Culture, shared values
TCS and BA celebrates 30 years of partnership built on a shared vision, values and trust in 2025.
What makes the partnership special is the culture built together, grounded in shared values. Diversity, trust, and a spirit of innovation have been key to strengthening this relationship over the past 30 years. By embracing different perspectives, fostering open collaboration, and constantly pushing for better solutions, the two organizations have created a partnership that’s not only resilient but also ready for the future.
BA and TCS celebrating 30 years of partnership
A 30-year journey of innovation and partnership
The partnership has been delivering innovation and digital transformation since 1995, enhancing resilience and customer experience.
The partnership began with a business intelligence team based in Chennai. Early achievements included the implementation of online check-in, customer self-service tools, and the development of a central data warehouse—laying the groundwork for BA' digital transformation journey.
Between 2006 and 2010, TCS introduced several key innovations, including holiday booking capabilities, mobile boarding passes, and the integrated engineering platform to enhance aircraft maintenance, repair, and operations. The launch of the TCS Airline Innovation Lab 1.0 marked a new chapter of co-creation. TCS undertook a strategic initiative to modernise critical airport systems, enabling next-generation operational excellence.
Following the formation of IAG in 2011, TCS launched a major transformation program for BA focussed on end-user computing. TCS also supported other key initiatives, including the deployment of crew iPad applications, self-service bag-drop solutions, BA.com modernisation, data protection, personalisation, and disruption management tools, to strengthen operational resilience and enhance customer experience.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, TCS played a critical role in helping BA maintain uninterrupted operations while delivering business initiatives such as the group loyalty platform, customer relationship management (CRM), flight planning, and new distribution management. In the post-pandemic period, TCS supported significant digital transformation efforts, including complete cloud migration, the integration of a modern revenue management system, and large-scale application modernisation. Following this migration, the focus has shifted to strengthening application stability and enhancing cyber resilience. Additionally, the adoption of domain-aligned data products and artificial intelligence (AI) is empowering smarter, data-driven decision-making across the organisation.
The way forward
TCS and BA are looking ahead with a shared commitment to innovation, resilience, and delivering exceptional experiences for the future of travel.
BA and TCS are shaping the future of air travel with a powerful combination of data and AI, enabling the business to act faster, smarter, and with greater confidence. This journey is about laying the groundwork for a truly intelligent enterprise powered by machine learning and AI.
The next horizon will be to partner on modern airline retailing, ensure next-generation revenue management and re-imagine airline operations that are powered by agentic AI and data insights.
TCS is working closely with BA to boost on-time performance and streamline the airline’s operations by leveraging the power of historical and real-time data. These initiatives bring together different systems, improving historical and real-time data flow, and replacing outdated platforms—making day-to-day operations faster, more connected, and more responsive.
BA launched its CRM and contact centre transformation initiatives, with TCS spearheading the technological overhaul. By leading the modernisation of systems and integration of customer data, TCS played a pivotal role in enabling BA to deliver more intelligent, personalised, and seamless customer experiences.
As part of the infrastructure and application transformation, TCS has led key initiatives like data centre exit, app modernisation, and end-user computing (EUC) transformation. These efforts have moved BA towards scalable cloud environments, modernised legacy systems, and enhanced EUC. This has helped build a future-ready digital foundation that supports agility, innovation, and continuous improvement across the enterprise.
TCS has also played a key role in strengthening BA’s network and cybersecurity posture through several key initiatives. These efforts have enhanced real-time network monitoring, secured identity management, and enabled proactive risk mitigation, laying the groundwork for a more resilient and secure digital future.
Colm Lacy
Chief commercial officer, British Airways
I'm delighted to celebrate our remarkable 30-year partnership with TCS, a relationship built on trust, collaboration, and continuous innovation. From large-scale cloud migrations, for example our revenue management systems, to the creation of our MDC platform, our collaboration has enabled BA and TCS to work together to ensure we remain at the forefront of digital capability.”
Director of IT operations
British Airways
This milestone reflects the trust, collaboration, and shared vision that have defined our journey. Looking ahead, we are focused on further strengthening our digital backbone, leveraging data, AI, and next-gen technologies to build a more agile, efficient IT ecosystem.”
Elizabeth Wright
Director of delivery–customer and commercial, British Airways
This partnership thrives because of its people. The thousands of talented individuals who have contributed their passion, creativity, and expertise over three decades. From Diwali to Christmas, from customer to commercial, this journey is one of unity in diversity.”
Krishnan Ramanujam
President, Consumer Business Group, TCS
Three decades ago, British Airways and TCS began a journey together. A journey fueled by the shared values of excellence, innovation, and collaboration. Two things have remained constant. The inevitability of change and the strength and resilience of our partnership. Together, we have navigated countless challenges and transformative shifts, both on the industry side as well as on the technology side. Our partnership remains a testament to how collaboration and innovation can help overcome the toughest industry challenges.”
Arun Pradeep
Business head, Travel and Logistics–EMEA, TCS
Over the years, TCS team has delivered several important programs for British Airways across the airline business, transforming customer experience, airport operations, crew and engineering. It's not just a business partnership; it's a journey of collaboration and mutual success. We are proud of what we have accomplished together and excited about the future we will continue to build hand in hand.”
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