IT & Innovation, AI
When you think about innovation in airlines, your mind probably goes to new planes or loyalty programs. But behind the scenes, many airlines are flying with decades-old IT systems that weren’t built for today’s world.
At ServiceNow’s Knowledge 25 event, Cathay Pacific shared their digital transformation journey. We heard how an 80-year-old company modernized everything from infrastructure to operations to employee services. And in doing so, they gave a roadmap that others can follow, a roadmap every airline IT modernization effort should study.
As the session began, the reminder was clear: just knowing the future is coming isn’t enough.
“Kodak basically invented the digital camera… They knew it. But they didn’t act on it.”
Cathay Pacific chose a different path.
The Pain Points Cathay Pacific Faced
Cathay wasn’t starting from a place of strength, at least not in IT.
“Ten years back, all our applications were hosted in our corporate headquarters in a normal Comms Room,” said Rajeev Nair, General Manager of IT Infrastructure and Security at Cathay.
They were running over 1,000 applications, many of them mainframe systems. They didn’t even have a real data center.
On top of fragile infrastructure, they had to deal with slow, fragmented operations.
“Our technology has moved much faster, but our underlying processes and operations are slowing us down,” Rajeev admitted.
Then came a wake-up call: a data breach. It accelerated Cathay Pacific’s push to modernize security and rework their entire digital foundation, a key lesson for any airline pursuing digital transformation today.
But it wasn’t just about technology. They also faced cultural resistance.
Cathay Pacific realized it wasn’t enough to modernize IT — business users needed to embrace the changes too.
“It is very important that they adopt the platform properly.”
It took campaigns, personas, gamification, and continuous communication to drive adoption.
And while AI was already reshaping industries, bringing it into Cathay’s world wasn’t simple. Implementing AI models for predictive maintenance and smarter decisions took patience, collaboration, and leadership buy-in.
The Turning Point: Acting Before Complacency Set In
The session didn’t shy away from the uncomfortable truth: companies that wait too long end up like Kodak, Motorola, or Xerox. It’s not about a lack of ideas, but a failure to act.
“They had money, they had market share, they had customers… But they didn’t act on their own inventions. They became complacent.”
Kodak is one of the most painful examples.
“Kodak basically invented the digital camera,” the speaker reminded the room.
In 1975, one of Kodak’s own engineers built the first digital camera prototype. But instead of leaning into the future, Kodak’s leadership dismissed it, fearing it would cannibalize their film business.
They chose to protect their old revenue instead of evolving, and it cost them everything.
Xerox made a similar mistake.
They were at the forefront of developing the graphical user interface (GUI) — the foundation for modern computing — long before it became mainstream.
“Xerox was at the forefront of developing GUI,” the speaker emphasized.
Yet Xerox didn’t commercialize it aggressively. Companies like Apple and Microsoft saw the opportunity and acted. Xerox didn’t. Their innovations fueled an entire tech revolution, but not under their own brand.
Motorola, too, once symbolized cutting-edge communication.
When the first signals were sent back from the moon, they traveled through Motorola equipment.
But despite pioneering mobile technology, Motorola failed to lead the smartphone revolution.
In every case, these companies didn’t lack talent, ideas, or resources. What they lacked was the will to disrupt themselves before someone else did.
And that’s the real warning for any organization undertaking airline IT modernization.
Success can create blind spots. Past dominance doesn’t guarantee future survival. Having great ideas sitting inside R&D labs, while leadership clings to old business models, is a slow march toward irrelevance.
Cathay Pacific made a different choice.
Instead of protecting the past, they invested in building the future. Cathay Pacific didn’t just upgrade one system and call it a day. They understood that true transformation needed a strategic, phased approach.
They set out to:
- Establish operational efficiency first (through infrastructure modernization, ServiceNow ITSM and ITOM).
- Strengthen and mature risk and compliance (through proactive risk management and security modernization).
- Lay the foundation for AI, automation, and continuous innovation (keeping their operations not just current, but future-ready).
Cathay Pacific’s story is living proof that when you choose action over complacency, you don’t just survive change, you lead it.
What Made the Difference: A Strategic, Relentless Approach
Cathay Pacific moved 90% of their applications to the cloud, shut down mainframes, and built a resilient data center network.
They chose ServiceNow not just for ticket management but as a core transformation layer.
“We want our whole platform to become more user friendly, with all the intuitive experience, so that our employees can get the service right away,” said Emily Wong, the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
By integrating virtual agents into Microsoft Teams, they made it easier for employees to solve problems themselves.
“For our users, in their day-to-day work, it’s a single, seamless experience layer,” Emily said.
Risk management became proactive, not reactive.
“Now we have a centralized repository to keep our IT risk,” Emily noted, allowing them to mitigate risks before they escalate into crises.
Cathay Pacific didn’t stop after “go-live.”
They built a continuous improvement model, running platform health checks, testing new ServiceNow features with pilots, and constantly looking for ways to better serve the business.
And it worked.
- Customer satisfaction jumped to 95%.
- They automated 44% of services.
They even spun off a new business unit, Cathay Technologies, to sell the tech solutions they built internally, a strong sign of success in airline digital transformation.
Real Aviation AI at Work
Cathay Pacific’s engineering team now uses AI to predict aircraft maintenance needs.And the results have been significant.
In the past, engineers would manually analyze aircraft log files to detect potential issues, a tedious process that could take up to three weeks.
Now, with AI models ingesting data directly from aircraft sensors and health monitoring systems, that same analysis takes just one week.
Faster identification of potential issues means Cathay Pacific can keep planes safer, reduce maintenance downtime, and move aircraft back into service more efficiently, a critical advantage in a low-margin industry like aviation.
AI is also transforming how Cathay manages its flight network operations.
The network control center — often described as the nerve center of an airline — is responsible for route decisions, disruption management, and real-time adjustments.
Traditionally, these decisions relied heavily on the expertise of a small group of subject matter experts (SMEs), people who had built up knowledge over many years.
Now, with AI connecting operational data across departments, decision support tools are supplementing and enhancing human judgment.
On the employee support side, AI powers virtual agents that handle frequent IT service requests and questions. By integrating these agents into Microsoft Teams, employees get faster, seamless support right where they work.
“First we started with optimization and customer experience,” Rajeev shared. “And now we’re looking at areas like cybersecurity and DevSecOps.”
Looking ahead, Cathay Pacific is exploring how AI can automate even more backend processes.
One focus area is helping developers with security decision-making during DevSecOps workflows. By using AI, they aim to make it easier to move safe, secure code into production faster.
They’re also investing in AI models that improve cybersecurity posture by proactively analyzing threats and risks.
Cathay Pacific’s approach shows that practical AI isn’t about replacing people. It’s about empowering teams to work smarter, faster, and safer across the entire operation.
Why This Story Matters for Every Legacy Organization
The lessons from Cathay Pacific are universal:
- Act Early: Waiting until you’re in crisis mode is too late.
- Think Broadly: Service Desk is the gateway, but true transformation touches infrastructure, operations, risk, and AI.
- Focus on People: Technology alone doesn’t win. Adoption, trust, and user experience are everything.
- Keep Moving: Launching a new platform isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of continuous improvement.
Cathay’s success story offers a clear blueprint for airline IT modernization and a strong reminder: legacy doesn’t mean obsolete. It simply means you have a choice.
Stay stuck in outdated systems.
Or, like Cathay Pacific, build a future that’s resilient, innovative, and sustainable.
As the speaker reminded the audience:
“The companies that win tomorrow are the ones acting today.”
If an 80-year-old airline carrying millions of passengers around the world can transform its IT, operations, and culture — what’s stopping you?
How Astreya Can Help You Modernize Like Cathay Pacific
At Astreya, we believe transformation isn’t just about installing new tools.It’s about connecting technology, people, and processes to drive real business outcomes.
We partner with IT and business leaders to:
- Modernize IT Infrastructure and Cloud Operations
Build a scalable, resilient cloud-first foundation for growth. - Reimagine Service Delivery
Optimize ServiceNow for ITSM, ITOM, and employee experience, so you no longer deal with fragmented support models. - Strengthen Cybersecurity and Risk Management
Integrate real-time risk visibility and compliance automation into your operations. - Implement Automation and Practical AI
From virtual agents to predictive maintenance insights, we help make AI work for your teams today. - Support Organizational Change
Drive adoption, empower your users, and build a culture of continuous improvement.
Because transformation isn’t a one-time project. It’s a journey.
And with the right strategy, the right partners, and the right mindset, your team can lead the future, not chase it.
👉 Let’s talk about how Astreya can help you build your next chapter.