From Runway to Real-Time: Air India's Tech-Led Flight with Adobe

Mint

2 days ago

When the Tata Group bought back Air India in early 2022 it was more than just the rebirth of a national carrier, it signaled the start of one of the most ambitious digital transformation journeys in the aviation sector worldwide. Leading this renaissance is Satya Ramaswamy, Air India's Chief Digital and Technology Officer, who is spearheading a bold five-year plan to re-position the airline as a customer-focused, digitally-enabled global airline. Central to this transformation is Adobe, Air India's key strategic technology partner and co-innovator, who are not only supplying their solutions, but also their spirit of collaboration to energise Air India's digital reinvention.
The story was spotlighted at Adobe SUMMIT India 2025, a platform showcasing how Indian enterprises are embracing AI, data, and experience-led growth, with Air India featured as a flagship example of purpose-driven reinvention.
"Transformation is about people, process and technology — but above all, it's about purpose," said Satya, as he reflected on the airline's journey in conversation with Prativa Mohapatra, Vice President and Managing Director, Adobe India at Adobe SUMMIT India. This year's SUMMIT India focused on how leading Indian enterprises are adopting AI, data, and experience-led platforms to drive growth and innovation. It was a showcase of real-world stories where technology meets purpose, and Air India emerged as one of the standout transformation narratives.
In recognition of this bold transformation, Air India was named the global Adobe Experience Maker of the Year 2025, a first for any Indian airline, and a defining moment in its digital comeback.
This purpose is based on the vision of the airline to restore Air India to its former grandeur – a time when it was considered a model airline, internationally.
Founded in 1932 by J.R.D. Tata, Air India had decades of international acclaim. However, several years of very difficult times followed. 'Despite difficult times, the people at Air India kept it going,' Satya noted, recalling stories like that of a woman commander who flew one of Air India's Boeing 777 aircraft to Rome at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to repatriate Indian citizens, leaving behind her own young children and flying into the unknown.
That resilient spirit, said Satya, was a key driver in the Tata Group's decision to bring Air India back into its fold. It wasn't just a business acquisition — it was a national mission. 'We believe in the future of India. And India had a rightful place in aviation once. Now, we need to give it back.'
When Satya stepped into his role, the airline's technology stack was minimal, limited to systems required for regulatory compliance, like flight planning and crew management. 'A modern airline has around 140–150 systems,' he pointed out. 'We had to lay down practically everything from scratch.'
With a clear mandate from Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran to prioritise customer experience, Satya and his team launched a digital overhaul that touched every part of the airline — on the ground, in the air, and in cyberspace.
Adobe was a key partner in making this vision a reality. Air India reinvented its digital touchpoints - the website, mobile app, notification systems, in-flight entertainment systems, and AI.g, its increasingly popular customer chatbot - by implementing Adobe's Experience Cloud suite of tools. These touchpoints provided a unified, omnichannel customer experience informed by data, insight, and real-time personalisation.
But digital transformation wasn't just customer-facing. From enterprise systems for finance and HR to operationally critical tools like crew management and engineering platforms, the airline's backend was rebuilt entirely. In a striking anecdote, Satya recalled visiting the old Air India data centre near Delhi Airport — a building so neglected that it was reportedly home to snakes and monkeys. Inside, the SAP mainframe chassis was literally falling apart.
Rather than being deterred, Satya took decisive action. Working with partners including SAP, he led a high-risk, high-reward migration from that outdated mainframe to the cloud — a move that defied industry convention and succeeded through creativity, bold thinking, and precise execution.
Any transformation is incomplete without people, and for Air India, a transformation in the workforce was monumental. To combine four airlines, it wasn't just the fleets and systems needed, it was the teams, mindsets, and cultures of the airlines that needed to be merged into a single unit.
Prativa recounted examples of her own experiences with the cabin crew - one, a 26-year veteran, who adapted well to new digital products like iPads replacing bulky printed manuals; another, a younger crew member, navigating cultural shifts between different airline legacies.
'It's not just technology — it's four airlines, three generations, and five types of aircraft coming together.' — Prativa Mohapatra
Satya agreed. Empowering cabin crew through technology, such as real-time customer data on iPads, has made a visible difference. 'Today, if someone misses a meal while sleeping, our crew proactively follows up to offer dessert or assistance. That's genuine Indian hospitality, elevated by tech.'
Credit for this goes to leaders like Juli Ng, who brought her experience from Singapore Airlines and Scoot to build a high-performing crew organisation that now consistently delivers across flights. Training, data, and cultural empathy are enabling Air India's crew to become true brand ambassadors.
Leading this kind of change, Satya emphasised, requires both imagination and rigour.
'Creativity and execution are two impactful superpowers.' — Dr. Satya Ramaswamy
Whether escaping outdated infrastructure 'like Houdini' or driving a merger plan that ran 1,200 pages and involved over 600 meetings, the goal was always the same — do what it takes to make it work.
And it wasn't without physical strain. 'People talk about mental load, but this was physically exhausting,' he admitted. 'Headaches that wouldn't go away, body aches from the stress. But the purpose kept us going.'
That purpose also served to unify departments and tear down silos. Satya promoted two values from the start: the elimination of data silos, and the removal of the distinction between 'business' and 'IT.' The digital technology team created the connective tissue across functions and, by being present for decisions, provided context and insight, so every level of the organisation was working together.
This concept of collaboration starts with the values of the Tata Group: humility, supportiveness, and performance. Chairman Chandrasekaran is a technologist himself, and he watched not only the outputs but the team dynamics closely. The culture he fostered encouraged the team to support one another and challenge each other.
Looking ahead, Satya sees the future of customer experience and marketing rooted in agentic AI — a model where every customer has a dedicated digital twin within the airline. 'It knows your preferences, notices if you missed entering your loyalty number, and takes action on your behalf,' he explained.
Instead of blasting campaigns with 50% effectiveness, agentic AI enables hyper-personalised, proactive engagement. 'This is the future of marketing,' Satya declared. 'It's not just powered by AI — it's made intelligent by empathy, context, and action.'
Air India is already building these intelligent customer agents, which are expected to go live soon. Once implemented, this system will be capable of automatically booking tickets, managing loyalty concerns, and anticipating customer needs — all in real time.
Adobe's role in this future is central. Its Experience Cloud tools such as Adobe RT-CDP not only enable today's personalised journeys, but also provide the platform for tomorrow's agentic, autonomous experiences, experiences that redefine what it means to fly.
With over 570 aircraft on order, the airline is scaling aggressively. Satya is hawk-eyed about the opportunity: 'When we are fully built out, Air India will likely be bigger than the largest of the global carriers today.' As India's global presence grows, so does its national carrier — not just in size, but in digital sophistication.
For Adobe, this journey with Air India isn't just a case study in transformation, it's a testament to what's possible when purpose-driven leadership meets platform-led innovation. From the tarmac to the cloud, from loyalty programs to predictive agents, this partnership is charting a new course for global aviation — one that's made in India, built on Adobe, and designed for the world.
This fireside chat between Dr. Satya Ramaswamy and Prativa Mohapatra was part of Adobe SUMMIT India 2025, where India's boldest digital transformation stories came to life on stage.
Note to the Reader: This article has been produced on behalf of the brand by HT Brand Studio and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Mint.