Ryanair's CEO tells CNET that advanced planning tools will mean a better experience for travelers.

If there’s one thing that’s unifying across the world, it’s that we can all agree that a canceled or delayed flight is a massive headache at best. Ryanair – the largest airline in Europe by fleet size, global passenger volume and total flights, and the second-largest airline in the world by global passenger volume – has implemented proprietary predictive AI models to help prevent airline disruptions before they lead to widespread cancellations or diversions. 

The AI models were developed by Ryanair Labs, the Ireland-based airline’s tech innovation hub launched in 2014, to more quickly and efficiently predict when weather delays, airport curfews and issues with airline crew hours are likely to disrupt passengers’ journeys.

I spoke with Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson at the Version 1 media briefing hosted by Enterprise Ireland, the governmental economic development agency, before the International AI Summit in Dublin to discuss how the airline is using these AI models. The goal, Wilson said, is not to replace Ryanair’s core of human operators, but to give his employees advanced tools to manage and handle operational complexities across Ryanair’s 96 operational bases and its more than 3,800 flights per day.

“And that, by making us efficient,” he said, “translates into lower fares, better operational performance — same boring, virtuous circle, you know, ’cause that’s what the airline industry is like.”

Wilson said there are a lot of variables in making sure a plane is in the right place, at the right time: weather, an airplane going out of service, an airport closing to meet curfews, staff and crew showing up.

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