Air India, which completed two years of its privatisation this week, is looking to onboard more CAT-III crew, have better roster planning and make preemptive flight cancellations to deal with the fog-related disruptions. The airline has also been facing flak from its customers for last-minute cancellations in the current winter season.
Tata Group, which now runs Air India, took control of the full-service carrier from the Union Government on January 27, 2022, marking its return to the original owners.
Last week, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a penalty of ₹30 lakh on Air India for flouting fog preparedness rules. The DGCA held the airline guilty of not having rostered CAT-III trained pilots who can fly in low-visibility conditions ahead of the cold season.
Acknowledging the second anniversary of Air India, Campbell Wilson, in his fortnightly message to employees, talked about the airline's achievements in two years and also drew a snapshot of what's expected in the next one year.
Speaking about the "bad fog season," Wilson said fog will recur in future seasons and airport/airway congestion will only increase.
“Our operations team is assessing how to cope better, such as by building a larger pool of CAT III crew, better roster planning and schedule buffers and, where necessary, more preemptive flight cancellations,” Wilson told Air India employees in his fortnightly message.
Noting that the second anniversary of Air India’s return to the Tata Group is an opportunity to look back on the progress made toward its ambition of becoming a global airline, he said, “The progress made in two short years is quite remarkable.”
On the workforce front, Air India said it welcomed 9,000 new employees, including 1,000 cockpit crew and 5,000 cabin crew.
On the fleet front, the airline is expecting new aircraft deliveries at an average rate of one in every six days throughout 2024, which include wide-body planes as well as single-aisle planes.
Besides upgrading 40 of its legacy Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 aircraft, the airline will also be upgrading the interiors of 41 A320 narrow-body aircraft, as per the airline.
“Though we still have a long way to go to upgrade the legacy fleet, improve our consistency, close remaining gaps and strengthen fragile processes, the future is now more visible, more tangible and, I hope, more inspiring,” Wilson said in his message to employees.
