Air India Looks To Increase Domestic Market Share By Over 30% In 5 Years; Unveils Transformation Plan

Air India, which plans to induct 30 new wide-body and narrow-body aircraft, on Thursday unveiled 'Vihaan.AI', a comprehensive transformation plan with a detailed road map for next five years

Air India will induct five wide-body Boeing and 25 Airbus narrow-body planes over the next 15 months.

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Tata-owned Air India on Thursday announced its plans to increase its domestic market share by over 30 per cent and significantly strengthen its international operations in next five years, the PTI reported. According to the report, the airline is putting in place a transformation plan after gathering feedback from employees.

Air India, which plans to induct 30 new wide-body and narrow-body aircraft, on Thursday unveiled 'Vihaan.AI', a comprehensive transformation plan with a detailed road map for next five years.

According to the plan, focus will be on dramatically growing both its network and fleet, developing a completely revamped customer proposition, improving reliability and on-time performance (OTP), and taking a leadership position in technology, sustainability, and innovation, as well as aggressively investing behind the best industry talent, the company said in a release.

Air India said, "Over next five years, Air India will strive to increase its market share to at least 30 per cent in the domestic market while significantly growing the international routes from the present market share. The plan is aimed at putting Air India on a path to sustained growth, profitability and market leadership."

According to the the latest data by aviation regulator DGCA, Air India had a domestic market share of 8.4 per cent in July.

After extensive feedback from employees, Air India has developed a plan that will focus on five key pillars -- exceptional customer experience, robust operations, industry-best talent, industry leadership, and commercial efficiency and profitability. "While the immediate focus of the airline remains on fixing the basics and readying itself for growth (Taxiing Phase), the more medium-to-long term focus will be on building for excellence and establishing scale to become a global industry leader (Take Off & Climb phases)," the release said.

Campbell Wilson, Air India MD and CEO, said the transformation has already started with a slew of initiatives in areas such as refurbishing cabins, serviceable seats, and in-flight entertainment system. "We are also adopting proactive maintenance and refining flight schedules to enhance on-time performance. Our fleet expansion will involve a combination of both narrow-bodied and wide-bodied aircraft to cater to varied network needs," he added.

'Vihaan.AI' plan was launched through Workplace, the airline's virtual communication and engagement platform. Over the coming days and weeks, the management team will engage employees across regions, departments, and locations through a series of physical and hybrid sessions.

In Sanskrit, Vihaan signifies the dawn of a new era.

The airline will induct five wide-body Boeing and 25 Airbus narrow-body planes over the next 15 months. The aircraft being leased are 21 Airbus A320 neos, 4 Airbus A321 neos and 5 Boeing B777-200LRs. Currently, Air India's narrow-body fleet stands at 70 aircraft. Of them, 54 are in service and the remaining 16 aircraft will progressively return to service by early 2023. The wide-body fleet stands at 43, of which 33 aircraft are operational, while the rest will resume to service by early 2023.