The Tata Sons has set an ambitious goal for Air India to aggressively expand its international routes and compete with foreign carriers, particularly after its merger with Vistara. To achieve this, Air India’s low-cost arm, Air India Express, will focus on the domestic market, competing with local airlines like IndiGo. The Air India board recently met to discuss future plans and align them with the Tata Group’s strategic goals in the aviation business.
As part of the plan, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson stepped down as Air India Express chairman, and Nipun Aggarwal, the airline’s chief commercial officer, took over the role. Basil Kwauk, the newly appointed chief operations officer of Air India, was also inducted into the board. The move is aimed at achieving operational breakeven by FY27-end, as stressed by parent company Tata Sons.
Air India Express has been streamlined and can be handled by Aggarwal, who is seen as an expert in commercial roles. The plan is to make Air India Express a strong No 2, challenging IndiGo, while Air India focuses on making itself globally competitive. Since acquiring Air India in 2022, Tatas have consolidated the airline business, with Air India absorbing Vistara and AirAsia India merging with Air India Express.
Air India Express has grown rapidly, adding 45 aircraft since the acquisition. Aggarwal, who led Tata Sons’ move to acquire Air India and a record 470 aircraft order in 2023, is known to be a hard taskmaster. He is currently leading the effort to synergize Air India’s network with Air India Express. The plan is to build strong international hubs, with Air India Express feeding these hubs, and segregate markets to reduce overlap.
While Tatas are working on transforming Air India, including refurbishing older planes, ordering new aircraft, and manpower restructuring, they face criticism from flyers over the poor condition of some older planes. However, the group acknowledges the expectations from the Tata name and has had visible success in many areas. The task of managing transformation and a merger simultaneously is gigantic, but the company is committed to achieving its goals.