Air France-KLM has signed an agreement with Google Cloud to use the latter's data, analytics, and generative AI technology.

The agreement is part of Air France-KLM's move to a multi-cloud strategy. The airline signed a multi-year cloud migration deal with Tata Consultancy Services in November of this year, in which it detailed plans to exit its data centers.

Air France
Air France-KLM data center in Valbonne, France – Google Maps

Under the new partnership with Google, Air France-KLM will use Google Cloud's data and analytics tools including BigQuery to utilize the data gathered from its three airline companies, 551 aircraft, and 93 million passengers that used its services in 2023.

The company aims to gain a better understanding of passenger preferences travel patterns and behaviors.

“Airlines generate massive amounts of data, much of which can be incredibly valuable in helping drive operational insights, build better customer experiences, and – with the power of gen AI – create entirely new services and offerings. We’re proud to support Air France-KLM in its innovation journey and to help the group define the future of the airline industry,” said Matt Renner, president of global revenue at Google Cloud.

On the generative AI side, Air France-KLM will develop customer agent support with automatic documentation. The airline will also develop a data lakehouse through which it can use Google Cloud's generative AI offerings.

”Our collaboration with Google Cloud is a significant step forward in our data strategy," said Air France-KLM group EVP and group CIO Pierre-Olivier Bandet. “By leveraging Google Cloud's advanced data technology with a real partnership approach, we intend to accelerate our innovation capacities with security in mind, and with generative AI, build the future of travel.”

Air France's existing data center footprint is not detailed, though Google notes that the company has three legacy data centers.

According to the European Energy Efficiency Platform (E3P) Code of Conduct website, Air France has a data center located in Valbonne. In 2017, the facility celebrated its 40th anniversary. It was renovated in 2016 with a new computer room. A report from La Quotidienne said that the airline also has data centers in Toulouse, France, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Earlier this year, Air France announced it would be deploying Starlink WiFi on board its aircraft from 2025.