Air India is in talks with manufacturers about buying jets as the Tata group-owned carrier intends to triple the size of its fleet from what it now has. According to Air India Chief Financial Officer Vinod Hejmadi, the airline is currently in the “taxiing phase” and it will take two years for it to take off, consolidate, and switch into the growth mode.
Tatas have presented a thorough transformation strategy to revive the losing airline since taking over Air India in January of this year. Five factors—industry leadership, strong operations, commercial efficiency, the greatest talent in the business, and exceptional customer experience—are the emphasis of the plan.
“In our journey to modernise Air India, we aim to capture 30% of the market within the next five years, and we also have plans to triple the size of our fleet of aircraft. We are eager to make sure that we increase our capacity for expansion and that negotiations with aircraft manufacturers are ongoing to purchase a fleet “
Air India Chief Financial Officer Vinod Hejmadi
He stated at the Aviation Insurance Symposium 2022 held here by Global Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd that the airline had previously struggled for existence but is now on a rising track following the Tata group’s acquisition.
“Currently, we are focusing on the taxiing phase, which involves correcting the fundamental issues that existed with Air India. After six months, we must then search for takeoff. And from the time we launch, consolidate, and enter growth mode until that point will take roughly two years “Added he.
Hejmadi claimed that the airline is making significant investments in labour, digitization, and technology to accomplish all of these.
Over the following 15 months, the airline will take delivery of 25 Airbus narrow-body aircraft and five Boeing wide-body aircraft. According to a press announcement from the airline on September 15, there are five Boeing B777-200LRs, four Airbus A321 neos, and 21 Airbus A320 neos that are being leased.
There are 70 narrow-body aircraft in Air India’s fleet. 54 of them are now in use, while the remaining 16 will gradually be put back into service by the beginning of 2023. There are 43 wide-body aircraft in the fleet, 33 of which are flying right now. According to the statement, the remainder will start serving again in early 2023.
In order to create operational synergies, the Tata Group has begun a process to investigate options for combining AirAsia India and Vistara under Air India.
Vistara is owned by the Tata Group, which also controls Air India and Air India Express. Additionally, the group owns 83.67% of the Indian airline AirAsia India.
In order to examine a potential merger of Vistara with Air India, Singapore Airlines had previously stated on Thursday that it was in “secret conversations” with the Tata group.
Hejmadi, meanwhile, stated on Friday that Air India welcomes competition in the domestic aviation market, whether it be a duopoly or more than two carriers, as this will keep everyone on their toes.
The traveller, who is the biggest stakeholder, will benefit from it, he continued, so we must be vigilant.
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