Air India's transformation progress so far -

In September 2022, Air India unveiled an extensive five-year transformation roadmap called Vihaan.AI, which in Sanskrit means Dawn of a New Era. With so much to do, the new team is taking one step at a time, setting several goals for what is expected to be a daunting journey ahead. And now, the airline has shared its progress six months after it began planning.

6 months of Vihaan.AI

When Air India launched its five-year transformation strategy last year, it was divided into different phases. The first phase of fixing the basics was called Taxi, after which the airline entered the next phase of takeoff and climb.

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With the taxi phase focused on addressing the airline’s legacy issues at scale and laying the foundation for future growth, now completed, Air India is poised to enter the next phase of takeoff Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said:

“During the first six months of our transformational journey, Air Indian has made great strides in engaging and uniting for a common cause and addressing the many issues that have accumulated over the years. At the taxi stage, we have also come a long way in establishing a foundation for growth.

“Record aircraft orders, a $400 million commitment to fully refurbish existing aircraft, a $200 million investment in new IT and the hiring of literally thousands of staff will help revive Air India. These are just a few of the significant investments being made in the upper echelons of the global aviation industry.As we enter the takeoff phase, we will begin to see these investments come to fruition.All Air The Indians are very grateful to our partners and supporters for continuing this journey.”

Air India at Kushok Bakra Rinpoche Airport

Photo: Tooykrub/Shutterstock

What has changed so far?

Air India has too many challenges to solve in just 6 months, but the new team was able to solve some of them. The airline categorizes its progress so far as follows:

customer

This includes Air India’s $400 million commitment to refurbish the aircraft. Shabby aircraft interiors have always been a problem for Air India, and a commitment to solve this problem is a big step.

The airline has also launched a new menu of domestic and international services in the past six months, and recently also officially introduced premium economy seats on some U.S. flights.

Photo: Wirestock Creators | Shutterstock

people

Air India has rolled out over 29 new policies across departments to improve benefits and designed a new compensation program for legacy staff. In addition, he has introduced two new training programs for upskilling his employees and in various departments he has recruited over 3,800 new staff his members.

Growth and commercial excellence

This includes orders for a total of 470 huge aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, the largest in aviation history. Air India has also expanded its fleet with 36 leased aircraft from him, including 11 widebodies.

During this time, the airline added six new international flights and increased frequency with another 24. That his RASK (earnings per available seat-kilometer) improved by 17% over the year.

Digital

The carrier has invested $200 million in upgrading its IT systems. This includes implementing Salesforce for CRM integration, upgrading SAP ERP systems from legacy mainframes to the cloud, upgrading websites and employee self-service systems, improving learning management systems, and more.Safety management system, etc.

Photo: WeChitra | Shutterstock

operation

Air India’s on-time performance (OTP) has improved significantly, with Air India consistently ranking among the top three airlines for the past year. We also signed a comprehensive spares and support contract to improve worldwide reliability.

Air India has also restored the in-flight entertainment system to working order in almost all first and business class seats, up to around 90% in economy seats. Air India has also become the first airline in the world to pass a risk-based IATA operational safety audit, among other operational achievements.

a lot to do

However, the new administration is not yet complete. Although the basic restructuring has been completed, the real challenge of transforming Air India into a world-class airline remains.

Airlines call the next step in their transformational journey the takeoff phase. At this stage, we plan to focus on building the right platform and making more rapid progress, building on the momentum we have established.

Photo: Media_works I Shutterstock

The merger of the company with Vistara and of its two budget subsidiaries, Air India Express and AirAsia India, will be part of this phase. Thankfully, Air India recognizes the challenges ahead and that’s why they’ve spent six months working to achieve truly transformative results.

What do you think of Air India’s progress over the past six months? Leave a comment below.