Air India has unveiled a comprehensive roadmap to establish the carrier as a leading domestic and international player. The airline, which was acquired by the Tata group in 2021, has been struggling against increased competition and the emergence of low-cost airlines. The new plan, called Vihaan.AI, focuses on expanding its fleet, improving reliability and performance, bringing in a new customer proposition, and aggressively investing in technology, sustainability, and talent to become an industry leader.
“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 focussed on being recognized as a world-class airline serving global customers, with a proudly Indian heart,” said Campbell Wilson, the Chief Executive Officer of Air India.
What is the plan?
Vihaan.AI is the company’s transformative roadmap towards becoming a leader in the field of aviation. The name means the dawn of a new era in Sanskrit, according to the company. Air India will aim to improve its market share in the domestic aviation space to 30 percent from 8 percent in the next five years. The company will also focus on increasing the number of international routes that it operates on. The overall aim is to bring Air India into a position of sustained growth, profitability, and market leadership.
The move has been made on the basis of the feedback that the management received from employees who communicated “their aspirations and hopes for Air India's growth.” The management team will be engaging with all its employees over the next few weeks in hybrid and physical sessions over the new roadmap.
“Vihaan.AI focuses on five key pillars, exceptional customer experience, robust operations, industry-best talent, industry leadership, and commercial efficiency and profitability,” the company said in an official release.
Three phases
The focus will be on fixing the basics and lay the foundation for growth by improving processes in what it calls the ‘Taxing Phase.’ The next is medium-to long-term goals in what it calls the ‘Take Off’ and ‘Climb’ phases of the plan.
The airline is already working on “a slew of initiatives in areas like refurbishing cabins, serviceable seats and in-flight entertainment system.” The CEO said Air India is also working on proactive maintenance and refining flight schedules to better its on-time performance while the fleet expansion will focus on both narrow-bodied and wide-bodied aircraft.
