 "Weakness of Air India supported survival of airlines around India: CEO")
This report has been updated to correct an error in Air India CEO & MD Campbell Wilson's quote
Airlines domiciled around India have survived due to Air India’s weakness, but the carrier now has an opportunity to reclaim the market from them and transform the country into a hub for travellers, said the airline’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Campbell Wilson.
Airlines domiciled around India have survived due to Air India’s weakness, but the carrier now has an opportunity to reclaim the market from them and transform the country into a hub for travellers, said the airline’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Campbell Wilson.
“India, as a country, had 43 wide-body aircraft at the time of Air India’s privatisation, while Dubai had 250, Singapore had 150, and Qatar had 175. That highlights the subscale nature of Air India and the opportunity it has to grow,” Wilson said in his speech at the 45th anniversary celebrations of the chartered accountancy firm PKF Sridhar & Santhanam on Monday night.
Airlines like Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, and Singapore Airlines serve substantial international traffic to and from India via their hubs in the region.
Wide-body aircraft such as the B787 and A350 have larger fuel tanks, facilitating long-haul flights. After a competitive bidding process, Air India was sold to Tata Group in January 2022.
Wilson, who assumed leadership at Air India in July 2022, expressed his aspiration for the airline to achieve a level of service, product quality, and hospitality akin to that of Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, and British Airways.
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“Many airlines domiciled around India have survived on the Indian market, and they have done so because of Air India’s weakness... So, notwithstanding the market growing around us, we have the opportunity to reclaim the market that others have taken and connect India to all important centres of the world, making India a hub for people to travel through because our geography is as good as that of every airline I mentioned,” he said.
Over the past few years, the Indian government has refused to expand bilateral service agreements with Gulf nations, limiting their carriers from adding more flights to India.
This decision aims to support the expansion of local carriers like Air India and IndiGo in their international services, especially to destinations in North America and Europe.
In March last year, Emirates President Timothy Charles Clark termed India’s decision to not expand bilateral rights between India and Dubai as “very vexing”, adding that it is a “pity” that the carrier is unable to operate more flights to India amid high demand.
Wilson said, “Those of us who have been in the aviation business as long as I have always looked at Air India with a little bit of regret, a little bit of what should have been. Such an iconic brand, such a long history, such a strong and proud country, represented in such a way.”
He added that he now has the opportunity to correct the “historic wrong”.
Last year, Air India placed the world’s second-largest aircraft order for 470 planes: 250 with European planemaker Airbus and American company Boeing.
Vistara, which is a 51:49 joint venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, is currently in the process of merging with Air India.