Air India sees huge upside in passenger, cargo biz; open for more partnerships: CEO Campbell Wilson

Time of India

2 days ago

Air India
sees huge upside in passenger as well as cargo segments and is always open for
partnerships
, its chief
Campbell Wilson
said as the full service airline works to upgrade its aircraft, improve service quality and expand networks.
The loss-making Air India, being piloted by the
Tata Group
since its take over in January 2022, is undergoing the ambitious five-year
transformation plan
'Vihaan.AI' that commenced in 2022, with Wilson saying he is very happy with the trajectory, notwithstanding that there is more work to do.
In an interview to PTI, the Air India CEO and MD said the airline "just learns to adapt and move on" when there are external factors such as supply chain and airspace issues.
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"When you are trying to do a turnaround, there are so many things that require us to act to prove ourselves... the objective is very very clear and hasn't changed in the slightest, the opportunity hasn't changed in the slightest, in fact if anything it has got more clear at the scale of the opportunity," he said.
The airline sees a huge upside on the passenger as well as
cargo business
sides, Wilson said, adding that since privatisation, the cargo revenues have increased more than three times. The passenger revenues have more than doubled during the same period.
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"Again, huge upside, non-stop service into key points around the world, more focus on cargo, better systems, more consistent product delivery, all of these things mean we are a much more credible player in the cargo space. (There is) significant upside opportunity," he noted.
Currently, Air India has a fleet of 191 planes, including 64 wide-bodies and 127 narrow bodies.
When asked whether Air India will also be looking at a partnership with upcoming airline Riyadh Air, he said there is an air about India. "Everyone wants a partnership with India and so we are talking to many many people".
"We are always open to partnerships. We have expanded or announced more than 20 partnerships since being privatised. That are codeshare (partnerships) and interline (agreements). We have embarked on some new codeshares with Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa Group... we will continue to work on more," Wilson said.
Against the backdrop of various instances of passengers complaining about the airline's service quality, Wilson said all efforts are going to make sure that there is a consistent product that is consistently meeting expectations that is humanly possible.
"We never want to disappoint a customer," Wilson said as he highlighted that Air India Group carries more than 60 million people a year and unfortunately, there are going to be weather events or other events that may result in everyone not having the experience that they had hoped for.
"There are always going to be some issues in aviation but let them not dominate the discussion when there is clear evidence that there is a product that people genuinely are thinking is impressive," he said.
Air India Group, which is expanding its fleet as well as network, had a domestic market share of 27.2 per cent in April.
"Whether it is airspace or other things that impede travel, I think it is a negative for society and we certainly would advocate for freedom of flight wherever it may be. Of course, we understand geopolitics and the like. When things happen that constrain airspace, then we just adjust," Wilson said.
Since Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian carriers in the wake of strained ties following the Pahalgam terror attack, Air India flights to Europe and North America from the national capital are taking longer routes and some of the flights also have a stop enroute.
In reference to the Pakistan airspace closure, Wilson said the airline has changed its flight routes. "Sometimes it (flights) take longer, sometimes we need to make a refuel stop but in almost all cases, we are still able to operate non-stop to the cities that we previously flew and continue to offer a compelling proposition and we just continue to adjust around us".
"Financially, the trajectory is good but I won't get into numbers at this juncture. We brought four groups of employees together under Air India and Air India Express. That is not an easy process. People come from very different backgrounds, very different work environments, sometimes they move to different cities but people are gelling together really really well and I am really proud of the way they have embraced this new combined organisation," he said.
Last year, Vistara was merged with Air India and AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) was integrated with Air India Express. There were some concerns among the staff on certain issues.
A New Zealander, Wilson, last November said the airline's transformation journey is a cricket Test match and not a T20, and that it was like lunch on the third day of a Test match.
"I think we are well into the second half of the Test match," Wilson said during the interview as he listed out the achievements last year, including the mergers, setting up of a training academy in Gurugram (Haryana) and rolling out of a new loyalty programme.