Ryanair is taking AI to the skies with Google Cloud

Ryanair is turning to AI from Google for everything from crew scheduling to optimizing business operations – and even automate decision making – as it bids to reach 300 million annual passengers.

Ryanair has considered a long list of wild ideas to cut costs and boost passengers throughout the years, everything from pay-to-use toilets, billing by passenger weight, and even standing-room only cabins.

Those ideas – usually from Group CEO Michael O'Leary – may be little more than marketing designed to grab headlines about how budget the airline is, but the five-year deal with Google may prove more useful.

Ryanair's five-year partnership with Google Cloud will see staff given access to Google's Gemini Enterprise, as well as models from Google DeepMind.

The airline said that Gemini Enterprise will be used to connect organizational data, automate workflows, and create custom AI agents to schedule crew, automate decision making, and boost corporate productivity.

DeepMind, meanwhile, would be used to boost fleet operations and schedule maintenance, in particular via its AlphaEvolve and WeatherNext models.

The deal isn't just focused solely on AI, however. The aviation company will also deploy Google Workspace and Google Cloud to its 35,000 employees as part of dual-cloud resiliency efforts developed to reduce outages of key technologies.

Ryanair currently has an existing partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Ryanair eyes strategic growth and resilience

The aim is to help grow Ryanair from 216 million passengers annually – making it Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers – to 300 million passengers annually by 2034.

"To support this growth, we need to ensure we have excellent infrastructure resilience, and our new dual-cloud strategy provides this, alongside technology partners that match our speed and relentless focus on efficiency," said Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson in a statement.

He added Google would help staff create "even greater efficiency across our business while bolstering our infrastructure resilience."

Good news for Google

The deal is a notable public win for Google, which is seen by some to be trailing rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic on AI.

Last month, CEO of Google-owner Alphabet Sundar Pichai was forced to defend the company's AI achievements and model release timetable, which was subsequently followed last week by a major shakeup of AI leadership at the company.

A headline grabbing deal with a well-known company to achieve specific business gains suggests Google may still have an edge when it comes to signing actual business deals.

Moreover, it gives weight to arguments that there may well be practical utility to AI – despite many companies struggling to put the technology to work.

"Aviation is an industry defined by precision, and Ryanair is a pioneer in operational execution," said Maureen Costello, Google Cloud's Vice President, for UK, Ireland and Sub-Saharan Africa, in a statement. "We are thrilled to be Ryanair’s AI transformation partner."

"This agreement demonstrates how deploying generative AI at scale – coupled with modern collaboration tools for frontline workers – can help industry leaders scale securely, reduce operational costs, and redefine the travel experience."

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow ITPro on Google News and add us as a preferred source to keep tabs on all our latest news, analysis, views, and reviews.

You can also follow ITPro on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and BlueSky.