AI is changing the world

opinion

by Fayaz Hussain

June 29, 2026

If you are choosing a name for a new baby, do not call your child Alexander, Albert, Alicia or Alejandro. Being called Al in 2026 is stressful.

When you are tired after an overnight flight, the last thing you want to see is an advertisement from a consultant saying: “Why Al is revolutionising international business today.”

Every large company has been told to develop an AI strategy and build an ‘AI moat’ to protect their business. If we assume they are talking about Artificial Intelligence, there are lots of reasons to be optimistic for business aviation.

First, no one is forecasting the end of face-to-face meetings. This genuinely was predicted back in the late 1990s (before the dotcom bubble burst). The information superhighway would end the need to meet up, it was claimed.

“The reality post Covid was that nothing beats a face-to-face meeting,” says Kerstin Mumenthaler, CEO of operator Axis Aviation. “The more we automate, the more we will need to meet up.”

There is a strong case that business leaders will need to travel more. “AI’s prevalence is obviously going to continue to grow. People are going to get to a place where they’re not sure what’s real or not real. It is going to bring face-to-face back to the forefront,” says Shawn Holstein, co-founder, president and CEO, Holstein Aviation. “This will help our business in the long run and within the next few years, you’re going to see a surge resulting from that.”

It is not just about winning new business. Business aviation allows companies to solve problems faster. The same is true for leisure travel. Travellers may use AI for advice and to book trips, but they will be looking for authentic human interactions.

The second reason to be optimistic is that fast-growing AI companies will become increasingly important customers in the next few years. AI companies are generating significant earnings and growing quickly. The Wall Street Journal says that Anthropic (best known for Claude) had $4.8bn in sales in the first quarter and is set to be profitable this quarter. It launched in 2021. There is a long tail of other AI specialist companies that are making real revenues and growing fast.

A few OEMs have sold aircraft to AI firms, but this is just the start. “We have been researching this and feel that some AI companies may go for fractional or charter rather than ownership. But if you want to buy an aircraft, please call me,” says Mumenthaler.

The third reason for optimism is that AI is already making a difference to operations. AI is removing basic admin, enabling operators to focus on customers. Manufacturers have been using it to make aircraft more reliable for years. There are some very exciting new products coming soon. But these will not replace the value in existing relationships.

The private nature of private aviation is a defensive moat for most companies. It is relatively easy to work out who owns an aircraft, but this gets you only so far. Building trust with the ultimate decision maker and their team is infinitely harder. AI is great for helping with market research but cannot replace the relationship that an adviser has built over decades.

One reason to be pessimistic about AI is that a shift in financial market sentiment could damage confidence. This happened with the dotcom crash in 2002. “We are already seeing sustained demand driven by AI,” says Rollie Vincent, founder, co-owner and president, Rolland Vincent and Associates. “Black Swans are definitely swimming about, but so far confidence remains. Even if the market turns you take a piece of string from the past and plot it to today, and it always comes backs to 2%-3% annual growth.”

As an industry we should embrace AI. But please get permission before doing the same to people called AI.