Digital transformation is reshaping every corner of the airline industry, from pricing optimization to passenger servicing and flight operations. Yet one critical process remains, refund processing. Despite its direct impact on revenue integrity, compliance, and customer satisfaction, refund processing still relies heavily on manual intervention. That is changing fast.

Refund management remains largely reactive and resource-intensive. However, as AI-powered solutions mature and operational efficiency takes center stage, this long-standing process is beginning to evolve.

An Overlooked Process under Pressure

Refund workflows intersect at revenue accounting, customer support, GDS platforms, and payment systems. Yet across most airline environments, processing a refund still involves:

Manually interpreting fare rules and waiver policies
Navigating fragmented tools and legacy systems
High average handling time (AHT) and error-prone decisions
Difficulty scaling during schedule changes or fare policy updates
Limited reporting and insight into refund trends or exceptions

The cumulative effect? Inconsistent customer experiences, risk of revenue leakage, and an avoidable drain on skilled operational teams.

What is changing: AI Meets Refund Management

The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) in aviation has opened new possibilities for automating decision-heavy functions, including refunds.

Modern AI-driven platforms can now analyze fare structures, classify refund types, apply business rules, submit transactions via GDS, and initiate disbursement—all without human intervention.

FNI.AI, developed by IGT Solutions and powered by TechBud.AI, is a purpose-built solution for the airline refund domain. It streamlines end-to-end refund management by leveraging NLP, generative AI, machine learning, and system integration.

Key capabilities of FNI.AI include

Automated interpretation of fare notes for public and private fares using LLMs

Handling of voluntary, involuntary, group, tax-only, and staff tickets

Integration with GDS platforms, waiver systems, and payment gateways

Real-time monitoring of refund queues and exception handling

BI dashboards for performance tracking and trend analysis

What the data shows

In production environments, platforms like FNI.AI have demonstrated measurable operational improvements. In one deployment with a global airline, FNI.AI delivered:

99.99% accuracy, reducing Agency Debit Memos (ADMs) and manual rework

A significant release of FTE capacity for redeployment to higher-value work

Up to 80% savings in operational costs

Up to 90% reduction in refund processing time

These gains reflect a move from traditional workflows toward scalable, insight-driven operations.

From operational necessity to strategic capability

Historically, refund processing is a fixed-cost function—critical but rarely optimized. AI-based automation is shifting that perspective, enabling airlines to:

Standardize refund decisions across fare types and geographies
Build traceable, auditable workflows
Reconcile faster through integrated payment and finance systems
Improve readiness for fare rule changes and exceptions

Refund automation is becoming a key lever for cost control, compliance, and agility as part of broader modernization efforts.

Strategic questions for airline leaders

For CXOs and transformation leaders evaluating automation opportunities, refund management raises timely questions:

Are current processes consistent and compliant across markets?
Do we see refund volumes, cost drivers, and exceptions?
Can our workflows scale without increasing headcount?
Are your skilled teams spending time on value-driven work—or stuck in repetitive tasks?

Understanding where manual gaps exist is the first step toward targeted transformation.

Looking Ahead

With fare rules becoming more complex and refund expectations rising, automation has become more than an efficiency play—it is a Gen AI-powered strategic upgrade.

Platforms like FNI.AI show that accurate, compliant, and scalable refund management is within reach. For airlines seeking operational control and customer confidence, it may be one of the most critical steps to take next. To learn more about the solution, click here.

Let’s talk about how refund automation can work for your airline.

Love Ojha
Vice President, Digital Transformation

With over two decades of experience, Love is a seasoned technology leader specializing in transformative solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. He has led several implementations of large-scale data warehouses and spearheaded AI and Generative AI innovations such as TechBud.AI, FNI.AI, and iVA, driving impactful digital transformations.