Amidst the reports of?Air India and Vistara¡¯s possible merger, the former¡¯s CEO has spoken about the airline¡¯s plans. Air India¡¯s CEO & MD Campbell Wilson, wants to turn around the airline, and is set out to make Air India the carrier of choice for passengers across the world.?
For the uninitiated,?Tata Sons announced Campbell Wilson as the CEO & MD of AIr India on May 12th, 2022.
CEO and MD Campbell Wilson stated that the airline intends to compete with major carriers such as Emirates and Singapore Airlines. "We want to appeal not just to the people of India, but we want the world to see Air India in the same category as Emirates, Qatar Airways, or Singapore Airlines."
CEO Wilson mentioned that it's not just about making Air India the preferred choice of Indians, it's about people from all parts of the world flying with Air India by choice. "Air India carries national pride and we want to represent India in a way. It wants to be represented at global stage," Wilson told ET in his first media interview since assuming charge.
Listing the changes that have taken place since Air India got privatised upon?Tata group¡¯s takeover this year in January, CEO Wilson said around 2.5 lakh cases totalling more than Rs 150 crore refund, which were pending since COVID, have been processed by the new owners.?Air India has also significantly improved its on-time performance (OTP), refurbished its menu and aircraft with new seats and cushions, and improved inflight entertainment.
Also Read:?Air India?Gets Approval To Acquire AirAsia India
"I think it's no secret that there's a huge market between North America and India, also between greater Europe and India, Australasia, Southeast Asia which is underserved. So those are the geographies that we're going to target first," he said, as per the report.
But with India's geographic position and diaspora, and the manufacturing capacity coming here, there is an opportunity to be connected far more, Wilson added.
Air India, which was taken over by the Tata Group in January this year, also intends to expand its fleet size from the current strength of 117 by three times. Air India is also reportedly aiming at increasing its market share to 30%?in both domestic and international space in next five years.
Air India¡¯s CEO also shared that they are addressing all legacy issues in the first phase. Secondly, he mentioned, "We are bringing in new systems, practices, and aircraft, upgrading the skills of our people, and then in the third phase, we will do the million things consistently right, which transforms us from being very good to world-class."
"Over many years, the airline didn¡¯t get the investment that it required. So, there's a lot of investment required in aircraft, customer-facing systems, or building capabilities in human resources. There's a lot of accumulated grievances among customers, like a lot that has not been processed," Wilson mentioned, as per the report.
Also,?Air India?is investing in call centres, restoring seats and in-flight systems, improving their website?and?mobile apps, and getting their own staff into the airports to improve supervision. Further, the Tata-owned airline is cross-training frontline crew on narrow-body and wide-body aircraft.
"Much of the turnaround will come as a consequence of the investment in these basic things. Airline is a mass transportation business that touches a lot of people and touch points," Wilson stated.
Also Read:?Tata Sons Likely To Write Off AirAsia?India's?Rs 2600 Crore Loss
One of the key focus areas for Air India will be improving its punctuality record.?Air India's on-time performance at four metro airports¡ªBengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai¡ªwas just 83.1% in June, lower than IndiGo, Vistara, and AirAsia India, according to data from aviation regulator DGCA.
Reflecting on this, Air India CEO said, "As we get more punctual and therefore more reliable, we can charge people a fare that commensurates with the product quality they are getting," as per CNBC-TV18 report.
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