When Tata Sons Ltd successfully bid for Air India and took over the Maharaja’s cockpit in January, everyone expected the group to get cracking on a complete overhaul of the airline.  

Air India takes baby steps in improving performance after takeover by Tatas, hard work lies ahead© Moneycontrol Air India takes baby steps in improving performance after takeover by Tatas, hard work lies ahead

And in keeping with the expectation, the Tata group is looking at enhancing the quality of on-board services apart from expanding the airline’s global footprint. It also has a plan to increase the number of narrow-body and wide-body aircraft in its fleet with the aim of connecting India directly with all points on the globe. 

There is little chance of drastic change taking place overnight. First, there is a lot the group has to do to take AI back to its one-time glory – new aircraft have to be ordered, on-time performance improved and passengers’ cabin experience enhanced.  

The task is challenging enough in an intensely competitive industry that has only recently resumed international flights after a two-year ban necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Keep in mind, too, that the Group now has four airlines--- Air India, Air India Express, AirAsia India and Vistara – and managing all of them with their different offerings makes it a tougher task. 

Some changes are visible. A recent flyer from Delhi to Chennai thought nothing had changed because he was not given the option of having either a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian meal.  

Four days later, on the return flight, he was pleasantly surprised when he was given a choice and also by the courteous and polite, yet firm, attitude of the flight attendants. Even better, the flight arrived 20 minutes early. 

A frequent flyer said: “I think the public perception of AI is changing fast. I tried booking from London to Mumbai in the first week of December last year and the flights showed ‘sold out.’ This augurs well for Tata AI.” 

Air India’s initial focus after its transfer to the Tatas has been on the core pillars of safety, cleanliness and on-time performance, said Satyendra Pandey, Managing Partner of aviation advisory firm AT-TV. Results of the effort are starting to show. 

To be sure, there are problems galore. Flyers on Air India’s long-distance international routes to Europe and the US complain about the lack of Wi-Fi; some seats on the flights are not equipped with even in-flight entertainment systems. 

Neha Kumar, who works with Global Bond Initiative based out of Delhi, experienced this first hand when she flew Delhi-London-Delhi recently.  

“I could see other passengers digging deep into their screen but apart from moving from one page to another, no content was showing up on a number of seats,” said Kumar, who calls herself a frequent flier on Air India and Vistara. 

That was not all. When Kumar reached Heathrow for her return flight, she was surprised to find that no separate baggage existed for passengers like her who had checked in online. 

“What really surprised me is that the AI App was not working and even though the flight was delayed to 11.30 a.m. from its earlier 9.30 a.m. departure, the App kept showing the departure as 9.30 a.m. Honestly, I could not see any discernible difference between the Sarkari AI and that being run by the private sector now.” 

This is as far as the airline’s interface with its flyers is concerned. There are other behind-the-scenes problems too.  

“Much work lies ahead. From renegotiating contracts to reviewing the network to reworking bank structures, the impacts of which will be seen in costs, cash-flow and customer preferences. At the very least Air India has to put out a product that competes with its domestic competitors and then build it to a point where the product speaks for itself. As the legendary JRD Tata famously said, ‘Quality is first engineered, only then it is inspected',” said Pandey. 

According to Pandey, as Air India continues to work on a turnaround, the competitive dynamics and competitive intensity are increasing. 

 “This has to be planned for. Some global peers already have competitive response plans in place. For instance, a complimentary one-night stay at a hotel for a one-stop booking that connects over an overseas hub may pull away from a long-haul or an ultra-long- haul proposition. Similarly, better frequent-flier benefits may entice even the most loyal of customers. Air India has to plan for all of these contingencies and then use strategic and tactical measures to counter these moves,” he said, adding that the CEO selection notwithstanding, the work is cut out for Air India. Several areas are to be addressed – all together, all immediately. 

Trying to explain the changes that are being introduced and planned, an Air India official said: “There is a plan to deploy the best of artificial intelligence and machine learning to mine data and offer a personal experience to the customers besides looking into even the minutest points of passenger experience with the aim of bringing in further improvement.” 

An Air India spokesperson added that the process of bringing about improvements had already started and “gradual improvements will be perceptible in the days to come,” adding, “We can only say at this stage that a total revamp of process and procedures is under way with the sole mission of providing quick, end-to-end resolution to passenger issues.” 

Some Air India employees agree. A senior Commander said that one of the biggest changes he had noticed was that now the new owners were willing to listen to the employees; the ideas that are offered by employees and liked by management are taken on board. Clear Key Performance Indicators are being set for employees. 

“Turning around an airline which was making huge losses is not an easy job. The passenger might think ‘ah now it is in private hands and things will be better’ but bringing about changes takes time. Then there is the question of integrating the work ethics of the private sector with that of working under the government,” he said. 

According to another employee, Air India’s long-term plans make sense. For instance, he cited the focus on reducing the airline’s carbon footprint, which is significant internationally. The focus on this effort is stronger, the employee added. 

Even as these changes are taking place, Air India under the Tatas has chalked out global expansion plans. In the recently announced summer schedule that commenced on March 27, not only did the airline start flights connecting Kolkata and Hong Kong, a new sector, but it also reinstated flights between Kolkata and Kathmandu apart from increasing the frequency on the Kolkata-Dhaka route. It has also started daily flights to and from Chennai to Singapore, Dubai, Muscat and Kuwait. Then there is also a daily service connecting Hyderabad to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dubai. 

The airline currently operates 44 weekly flights to North America, which includes 10 flights a week to San Francisco, and a daily one to the Chicago, Newark and John F Kennedy airports in the United States. The airline is also offering a daily flight to Toronto and three-times-a-week flights to Vancouver. Plans are also afoot to operate daily flights to Melbourne and Sydney subject to approval by regulatory authorities, a senior airline official said. 

Expanding its international footprint means acquiring more aircraft. International aircraft manufacturers have started wooing Indian carriers with their latest offerings. For instance Airbus recently flew the Airbus A350 Extra Wide Body aircraft to India. The aircraft is capable of flying non-stop between Bengaluru and San Francisco, a route that Air India had been looking for a long time. 

An Air India commander said that the A-350-900 ULR can fly non-stop between Mumbai and Buenos Aires, Mumbai and Panama City (which if it is launched will be the world’s longest flight) and Delhi-Auckland; it can even connect Thiruvananthapuram with Tel Aviv.  

(With inputs from agencies)