China Southern Airlines (CSA) held an AI innovation conference in Guangzhou on December 18, presenting its latest applications of artificial intelligence in line with national and civil aviation development strategies.
At the event, the airline introduced several AI applications, including the Smart Travel Assistant for passengers, the Tianji Predictive Model, which forecasts flight operations and demand, the Tiance Aviation Solver, designed to optimize scheduling and operational decision-making, and the Tiandun Safety Model, which supports risk identification and aviation safety management. Together, these systems aim to improve operational efficiency, decision support, and passenger services across the airline's network.
The Smart Travel Assistant, China's first AI application to cover the entire passenger journey, is integrated into the CSA app and allows travelers to complete booking, check-in, rescheduling, seat selection, and other services through natural-language commands, while also offering post-trip services, airport navigation, and interactive features. Deng Zhuonan, project leader of this innovation, said, "The assistant's main advantage is its ability to complete multiple services through a single command, providing end-to-end support from ticketing and service recommendations to after-sales assistance."
In the exhibition area, CSA also showcased the AI digital staff transparent screen system. Meng Yutong, project lead, said, "Passengers can ask questions in their own language, and the system translates them instantly for staff, who respond in Chinese and have their answers translated back in real time." He added that the system maintains eye contact through a transparent screen and is already deployed at Beijing Daxing and Urumqi Airports, supporting CSA's growing international routes.
The conference also hosted the 4th CSA Innovation Awards, recognizing 77 solutions across seven tracks, including operations, marketing, management, safety, equipment, services, and intelligent applications. Experts from government, civil aviation, airlines, universities, and tech companies discussed AI integration across all aspects of aviation, aiming to accelerate innovation and technology adoption.
Reporter: Zeng Xiangxing
Photo: Zeng Xiangxing
Editor: Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
