New Delhi: Fondly known as the ‘Maharaja’ of Indian skies, Air India passed through its darkest phase before reaching the hands of Tata Group, once again. The CEO of India’s oldest airline Campbell Wilson has on Tuesday revealed the big expansion plans of the company. He said the airline aims to have 30 per cent share in both domestic and international markets in the next five years.Also Read – International Flights: Vistara Launches Air Services From Pune to Singapore From Dec 2 | Check Ticket Fare, Full Schedule
Currently, the loss-making carrier, which was taken over by Tata group in January, has put in place the revival plan ‘Vihaan.AI’. As of now, the airline commands a domestic market share of 10 per cent and an international market share of 12 per cent. Also Read – Singapore Airlines Holds Talks With Tata Group Over Vistara, Air India Integration: Report
WHAT’s ‘VIHAAN.AI’?
‘Vihaan.AI’ is a comprehensive transformation plan with a detailed road map for the next five years. The airline will be inducting 5 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. Also Read – Paytm Festive Travel Sale: Check Exciting Offers, Deals On Flight Bookings | Deets Inside
“This is the beginning of a historic transformation for Air India, and the dawn of a new era. We are laying the foundation for a brave new Air India, with a renewed sense of purpose and incredible momentum. Vihaan.AI is our transformation plan to make Air India the world class airline it once was, and that it deserves to be again. We are absolutely focused on being recognized as a world-class airline serving global customers, with a proudly Indian heart”, said Campbell Wilson.
Air India’s narrow-body fleet stands at 70 aircraft. Out 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 aircraft, of which 33 are operational. The rest will return to service by early 2023, it had said in September.
(With PTI inputs)