The world’s airlines have been told they will only succeed in delivering a complete digital transformation of the sector if they truly work together.

Speaking at the 2025 IATA World Financial Symposium and World Passenger Symposium. Sandrine Le Borgne, senior vice president, Corporate Services and chief financial officer, IATA said the industry had to collaborate if it was to deliver in the face of increasing challenges.

“The transformation toward seamless, digitally enabled travel is underway but it’s progressing unevenly,” she explained. “The technology exists, but implementation isn’t simple. Airline management teams are juggling a long list of urgent, often competing priorities.

“CEOs need to navigate challenges from supply chain constraints and sustainability demands to evolving consumer expectations and regulatory change. CFOs must fund innovation while maintaining financial discipline, unlocking returns on the investments already made, and navigating an increasingly unstable environment shaped by tariffs, inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty.”

As such CROs or CCOs are focused on driving transformation across every customer touchpoint—retailing, payments, servicing, and loyalty—while still managing legacy infrastructure and fragmented data.

Meanwhile Chief Operating Officers (COOs), must deliver the passenger experience every day ensuring safety, reliability, and on-time performance while introducing new digital processes that make travel smoother and more predictable.

“Across every function, there’s a common constraint: outdated legacy systems,” Le Borgne explained. “PNRs. Paper documents. Printed boarding passes. Disconnected data. They’re the invisible barrier standing between us and the seamless “what if” future we all imagine.

“Our passengers are already living digitally in every other part of their lives. They see glimpses of progress in aviation—biometric gates here, digital boarding there—and they’re asking: “Why can’t air travel deliver the same seamless experience everywhere?”

“We are transforming…and our customers expect to see us transformed!”

She continued: “Because digital transformation isn’t just about tech. It’s about people—and designing processes that meet their expectations.

“That’s why collaboration through IATA matters. Together, we turn vision into execution with global standards, shared frameworks, and strategic partnerships that make scalable progress possible.”

Le Borgne said: “Momentum is building. But we’re still far from a critical mass of implementations that would satisfy what passengers want: a fast, document-free journey—not just at one airport, but at every airport.

“And that brings me to my final point: we’ll only succeed if we work together. There’s real purpose behind the expertise gathered in this room—collaboration is how we turn vision into reality.

“The challenge we are facing is a business-model redesign that depends on finance, technology, and customer insight working hand in hand.”