Delays, cancellations, and diversions have exposed a fragmentation problem that runs from the first decision to the last payment — and the airlines that unify that chain will win the passenger. Part 1 of a two-part series on IROPS. A departures board at the San Francisco International Airport on 7 November 2025. Photograph: John G Mabanglo/EPA Ask any traveler heading to an airport this summer what they expect, and the honest answer is no longer “a smooth trip.” It is “a dela

If you've ever booked a $29 flight to Fort Lauderdale, grabbed a last-minute weekend fare for under $100, or squeezed into a no-frills seat because the price was just too good to pass up—Spirit Airlines made that possible. And now, Spirit is gone. The ultra-low-cost carrier's shutdown marks the end of an era for budget air travel in the United States. For millions of travelers, Spirit wasn't just an airline—it was the airline that made flying accessible. But for the aviation

While airlines debate which payment systems to modernize first, a fundamental shift is already underway. AI agents—autonomous software capable of researching, comparing, and booking flights without human intervention—are no longer theoretical. They're transacting today. And most airline payment infrastructures aren't ready for them. The just-released @Aquila Global Airline Payments Modernization Study 2025, in which The Cileo Group participated alongside 48 airlines worldwide