‘Plenty of changes’ taking place in Air India to make it bigger, better: CEO Campbell Wilson

Air India has ‘plenty of changes’ planned, and its merger with Vistara is well on its track, said the airline’s CEO Campbell Wilson. This comes amid Tata Group’s plan to merge Vistara with Air India, and AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with Air India Express. 

Wilson said that “plenty of changes” will take place to make Air India bigger and better. He said new IT systems have been brought in. He also said that more than 100 aircraft will be retrofitted including 40 wide body aircraft. Wilson said the airline ordered about 25,000 new seats to be replaced in the aircraft, and $400 million has been spent on replacing the seats. They are focusing on integration, growth, optimisation and customer experience, he said. 

The Air India CEO, however, said that increase in inflation has impacted the aviation sector, and that supply chain constraints are proving to be a challenge in improving the aircraft. 

On the Air India-Vistara integration, Wilson said things are ‘so far so good’, and added that they are working with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on transfer of all new services upon the integration. 

The newly aligned aircraft will be utilised for exclusive markets like Singapore, Dubai, and Frankfurt. 

Speaking at the CAPA India Aviation Summit, Wilson said there is "immense flexibility" for the group whether it is full or low cost services and are in a “good position”.

Meanwhile, aviation consultancy CAPA India has estimated losses for fiscal 2024 at $300-400 million, and said it sees yields - the average amount paid by a passenger to fly one for kilometre – for the current year rising around 1 per cent. Overall airline costs are expected to rise 3.8 per cent in the fiscal year 2025, the consultancy added.