DELHI- As the Tata Group approaches its third anniversary of acquiring Air India (AI) in January, CEO Campbell Wilson provides a comprehensive overview of the airline’s strategic transformation and market positioning including strong dominance on the metro routes.

Wilson, speaking at the company’s modern headquarters in Gurugram, revealed significant market penetration across domestic routes.

Air India Dominate Metro Routes

The airline currently commands around 29% domestic market share and an impressive 55% on metro-to-metro routes. On the top 120 domestic routes, Air India’s market share stands at approximately 40%.

Also to cater to this growth, the Air India Group subsidiary AI Express has hired the highest number of foreign pilots. They currently have 144 expatriate pilots while Air India has 58.

In October 2024, Air India reported a market share of 19.4% which includes Air India, Air India Express, and AIX Connect combined share. While Vistara reported 9.1% out of a total pool of available shares. This combines to 28.5% share.

As obvious, IndiGo (6E) dominated the domestic market but this time with an even better share of 63.3%. With the decline in SpiceJet operations post-pandemic and the absence of Go First, IndiGo is set to soar higher, and the only challenge it can face is from Air India Group.

The airline’s fleet modernization strategy is set to enter a critical phase in early 2025. Wilson acknowledged previous delays in aircraft retrofit, attributing challenges to global supply chain disruptions, particularly in sourcing aircraft seats. Despite these obstacles, the airline has developed a robust implementation plan.

Starting in 2025, Air India will systematically retrofit its legacy wide-body aircraft fleet. The company plans to transform 3-4 aircraft every month until completing upgrades across its entire 40 wide-body aircraft inventory. This methodical approach underscores the airline’s commitment to enhancing passenger experience and operational efficiency.

Looking ahead to 2025, Wilson emphasized that growth will predominantly emerge from domestic and short-haul international flights.

Also, Air India plans to provide training to over 50,000 professionals in the upcoming years, spanning roles like pilots, cabin crew, ground staff, aircraft engineers, airport security personnel, etc.

Beating India’s Largest Domestic Carrier

Air India has strategically realigned its flight schedules across five key metropolitan routes within weeks of completing the Vistara merger, implementing comprehensive changes effective December 01, 2024.

Aviation analytics company Cirium exclusively provided data to Ameya Joshi, Network Thoughts revealing the airline’s meticulous approach to network optimization. The restructuring addresses critical challenges arising from overlapping flight schedules that emerged post-merger, including pricing complexities and passenger confusion.

The Delhi (DEL)-Mumbai (BOM) sector, now dominated by Air India in capacity and frequency, underwent significant schedule modifications. Seven flights in each direction were strategically rescheduled, eliminating simultaneous departures and introducing more strategic 45-minute spacing between flights. The changes also resulted in a slight capacity reduction due to the elimination of one red-eye flight.

Similarly, transformative adjustments occurred on other key routes:

Delhi-Bengaluru (BLR) Route:

• Seven of 18 departures received timing adjustments
• Air India now leads IndiGo in capacity and frequency (I am sure IndiGo will not like this and add more frequencies in coming months)
• Improved schedule distribution across the day

Mumbai-Bengaluru Route:

• Eight of 11 flights were redesigned for better daily spacing
• Significant timing modifications in both directions
• Enhanced network optimization

Delhi-Hyderabad (HYD) Route:

• Five of eleven flights rescheduled
• Increased flight concentration during morning and evening peak hours

Mumbai-Hyderabad Route:

• Most extensively modified sector
• Four of nine outbound flights restructured
• Six of nine return flights significantly adjusted

Serving Routes with Premium Planes

Effective December 1, 2024, Air India debuts a comprehensive domestic network strategy utilizing former Vistara A320-series aircraft across five critical metro routes, introducing premium multi-class cabin configurations.

Route Network Breakdown:

• Delhi-Mumbai: 56 daily round-trip flights
• Delhi-Bengaluru: 36 daily round-trip flights
• Delhi-Hyderabad: 24 daily round-trip flights
• Mumbai-Bengaluru: 22 daily round-trip flights
• Mumbai-Hyderabad: 18 daily round-trip flights

Cabin Configuration Highlights:

• Business Class: 8 seats
  • 41-inch pitch
  • 7-inch recline
  • Integrated leg and footrests
• Premium Economy: 24 seats
  • 33-inch pitch
  • 4-inch recline
• Economy Class: 132 seats
  • 29-inch pitch
  • 3-inch recline

Premium Service Features:

• Complimentary hot meals
• Lounge access for premium travelers
• Seamless international connectivity across five continents
• Award-winning interior design

Air India will simultaneously maintain one daily wide-body flight on Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru, and Delhi-Hyderabad routes using Boeing 777 or Airbus A350 aircraft, identified by three-digit flight numbers under the “AI” prefix.

I recently flew on Air India A321 and will soon make a detailed review but for a little spoiler, it was not what I expected from the new Air India, and a pretty average experience.

Feature Image By Harsh Tekriwal | Twitter or X

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