New Delhi, September 21, 2024: Air India will reconfigure its narrow- and wide-body planes to add new cabins and seats and offer upgraded services to its customers as it changes gears under its five-year transformation programme called Vihaan.AI.
On the occasion of the completion of two years of Vihaan.AI, Campbell Wilson, managing director and CEO, Air India, said in an email to employees on Friday, “In our just-published financial results, we reported that consolidated losses reduced by over 50% year-on-year, and consolidated operating revenues rose by 25% to the highest-ever level.”
Air India more than halved its net loss to Rs 4,444 crore during the reporting year, from Rs 11,388 crore recorded in FY23, as per disclosures made in the annual report of Tata Sons. Its standalone revenues jumped 24% to Rs 38,812 crore from Rs 31,377 crore posted in FY23 according to the reports published in financialexpress.com.
“When we consider that the year covered only the early part of our transformation programme, before most of the initiatives we have been working on were implemented, these early results should encourage us that the effort is bearing fruit,” Wilson added.
The former government-owned carrier is aiming to retrofit three-four narrow-body aircraft each month before completing the entire exercise by the middle of 2025 totalling 67 aircraft. Its 40 legacy widebody aircraft — Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 — will undergo retrofitting as soon as the seats are certified and delivered, the company said.
The first of the Airbus A350 widebodies was pressed into service on the Delhi-London route earlier this month, offering a customer experience unlike those seen on its legacy planes.
The Tata Group-owned airline also refreshed its domestic lounge in Delhi, featuring several enhancements including a relaxation zone, sleeping pods, private shower rooms, an upgraded food and beverage menu, and a team of dedicated service assurance officers.
Its ground handling partner AISATS introduced new luxury coaches for premium passengers at Delhi airport, for occasions where the airline has to use remote bays rather than aerobridges. The first of these eco-friendly premium coaches are now in service.
“Our network continued to expand, with the inauguration of a daily non-stop flight between Delhi and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, our sixth Southeast Asian destination, while on the ground, we inaugurated Block D at our Vatika headquarters this week, the fourth and final block of the Air India campus, just in time to receive more colleagues from Vistara,” Wilson said.
