Air New Zealand won’t make you lick your plate clean but it might note what meal items went untouched during your flight thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). The airline has revealed it took more than 30,000 photographs of passenger meals in October as part of an AI trial that could help the airline finesse its menu. Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said he believed the food on the airline was the best he’s ever had but was excited to reveal how the airline used AI to clock what people didn’t enjoy.
“What we’re now doing is using AI to take photographs of what’s coming on the galley cart,” he said, adding that AI was a “game-changer” the company was trailing in several ways. The airline’s chief digital officer Nikhil Ravishankar confirmed the airline was exploring AI to improve customer experience and streamline work. “We have put together a programme of work to investigate the different ways in which we can use generative AI,” he said.
“At this stage, the early indications are that generative AI will start to play a significant role across almost all parts of the airline as another powerful tool in our toolkit”. One area, as hinted, relates to the food on passengers’ plates. Last October, Air New Zealand trialled using AI with its catering provider LSG, to analyse food passengers did not eat during flights from Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
More than 30,000 photographs were taken of meal trays during two trial periods. AI analysis of these photogr.
