IT services and consulting giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced on Wednesday that it inked a five-year partnership deal with the Kiwi carrier Air New Zealand to upgrade its digital infrastructure, including adding AI-based solutions for the airline.
The deal was announced in a formal signing event at the TCS Banyan Park Campus in Mumbai, which was attended by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran, and TCS CEO and MD K. Krithivasan.
Air New Zealand chief Foran stated that the partnership would help the carrier “enhance the customer experience, streamline operations” and “reinforce” their commitment to cybersecurity and data protection.
“Going forward, TCS will be an instrumental partner in helping us deliver our Cargo Digital Transformation and improvements to our Digital Retail capability,” Foran added.
TCS chief Krithivasan chipped in: “We are excited to partner with Air New Zealand in its journey to become a digitally advanced airline. With our expertise in aviation, combined with our ability to drive large-scale innovation, TCS will enable Air New Zealand to set new benchmarks for efficiency, sustainability, and customer engagement.”
Air New Zealand services 49 domestic and international locations, flying 15 million passengers annually on more than 3,400 flights a week. Launched in 1940, the airline now operated 98 aircraft ranging from Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A320s to ATRs and Q300s.
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TCS is expected to upgrade Air New Zealand’s digital services of more than 600 applications, and integrate AI-driven automation and cloud technologies into “critical airline functions”. The tech upgrade is expected to service cargo service, disruption management, retail offerings, maintenance systems, and crew operations.
Ahead of the US Fed policy announcements, TCS stock fell sharply when markets opened on Friday, along with that of its peers led by Infosys. This led to the Nifty IT index slumping after gaining for the past three sessions. During the day, TCS slid as low as 2.5 per cent from its previous close of ₹3,552.45—trading closer to its 52-week low.
The stock of TCS, the second largest listed company in India by market cap, slowly found its footing after the news of the deal, but it did not show a marked improvement to claw back its losses for the day.
