From Records to Relationships: Five Moments for Airline Retailing in 2025

1. The “Native Order” Breakthrough: Finnair Makes History

In May 2025, Finnair achieved what many thought was years away: the world’s first “Native Order” booking on the Amadeus Nevio platform. Finnair proved that an airline can operate without a traditional Passenger Name Record (PNR).

• The Impact: This wasn’t just a technical pilot; it was a business revolution. By managing travel in a single, simplified “Order” record (flight, hotel, and ancillaries combined), Finnair has set the gold standard for a frictionless customer journey.
• Consultant’s Take: If a Tier-1 international carrier can break the PNR habit, the “it’s too complex for us” excuse no longer holds water.

2. The Power of Two: WFS and WPS Cement the Finance-Retail Union

In November 2025, the industry gathered in Istanbul for the joint World Financial Symposium (WFS) and World Passenger Symposium (WPS). What began as a strategic experiment has now become IATA‘s most critical annual alignment.

This edition, themed “Destination: Transformation,” proved that the silos between the CFO and the CCO have finally dissolved. By uniting these forums, IATA has solidified the Offer-Order-Settle-Deliver (OOSD) framework as the operational backbone of the industry.

• The 2025 Shift: Discussions moved from “why we should merge” to “how we settle.” The focus was on Settlement with Orders (SwO), ensuring that as airlines sell more dynamic offers, the financial back-office can keep pace with real-time, order-based accounting.

3. From Chatbots to Agents: The Rise of Agentic AI

2024 was about AI talking to customers; 2025 was about AI doing for customers. Leading tech providers like Sabre and Accelya rolled out “Agentic AI” modules that autonomously construct bundles.

• The Innovation: These systems don’t just wait for a search; they proactively monitor traveller context—like a missed connection or a change in weather—to dynamically re-price and re-bundle offers in milliseconds.
• Result: Early adopters are seeing a 10–17% lift in ancillary revenue by moving from static rules to autonomous retail agents.

4. The 100% Offers and Orders Roadmap Hits High Gear

IATA’s 100% Offers and Orders Roadmap reached a critical mass of adoption this year. With major groups like Air France-KLM, Lufthansa Group, and Emirates publicly advocating for the total sunsetting of legacy EDIFACT and PNR systems by 2030, the “point of no return” has been reached.

• The 2025 Milestone: Over 27% of global airlines have now moved into active transformation programs, moving past the “business case” phase and into architectural re-design.

5. Identity-Centric Retailing: The “One-Click” Travel Experience

The integration of Digital Identity (IATA One ID) into the retail stack became the final piece of the puzzle this year. By linking the “Order” to a verified biometric profile, airlines like AirAsia MOVE have begun offering a “one-click” checkout that rivals Amazon.

• The Benefit: This removes the highest point of friction in the booking funnel: entering passport and payment data. In 2025, your face is your ticket, your credit card, and your loyalty ID, all wrapped into one secure Order.

The Bottom Line for 2026

The transition to Modern Airline Retailing is no longer a “tech project”—it is a total business transformation. The “Legacy Translator” era is beginning to fade as airlines realise that the true value lies in a clean, order-based architecture.

Is your organisation ready for the legacy-free future?

At Wolstonbury, we help airlines navigate the transition from PNRs to Orders, ensuring your tech stack is built for the retail reality of 2025 and beyond.

Wolstonbury — Commercial Aviation Strategy, Delivered with Clarity and Purpose.

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