IAG tests AI in one airline before scaling it group-wide

IAG does not roll AI out across the whole group at once. According to Skift, the holding that owns Iberia, British Airways and Vueling validates each use case inside a single airline and only extends it to the rest of the brands and markets once it proves real value. Ben Dias, the group's data and AI lead, puts it plainly: test first, scale after.

The piece that holds that method together is governance. At IAG it comes in from day one, not bolted on once the project is already running. That discipline is exactly what gives the group the confidence to move a solution from one airline to another without repeating mistakes or opening new fronts at every brand.

My take: it makes full sense for a group with several airlines under one roof. The temptation to deploy an AI tool across every brand at once sounds modern, but it multiplies risk and blurs accountability. Test in one, measure the return, and only then extend. That is the boring path. And with AI, the boring path is usually the one that works.

For travel professionals, the lesson goes beyond IAG. If your hotel, your OTA or your tour operator is thinking about AI, start with a narrow use case, clear metrics and someone accountable for them. Scale comes on its own once the result earns it.