Shorter layovers, new lounges, better jets: Air India’s revival takes flight

India’s flag carrier is investing heavily to lure back passengers, promising faster connections and upgraded cabins

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An Air India aircraft prepares to land at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 12:52pm, 7 Apr 2025Updated: 12:56pm, 7 Apr 2025

Air India long languished under government ownership while cash-rich Middle Eastern rivals siphoned off travellers. Now the airline is trying to even the score with cheaper fares, fresh cabins and lounges as well as shorter layover times.

The multi-year turnaround programme will initially focus on the airline’s 27 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners that are more than 10 years old in some cases, with Air India seeking to complete a refit in early 2027. A second stage, involving older Boeing 777 wide-bodies, will start late next year, though that step is proving more complex because of issues with seat suppliers, according to Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson.

“Consistency makes an airline good,” Wilson said in an interview. “There should be a consistency in product quality, crew service, punctuality, and experience at airports and in aircraft. We are working on all of those.”

The interior of an Air India Airbus A350 plane, as displayed at the Wings India 2024 aviation event in Hyderabad last year. Photo: Reuters

The Indian travel market offers huge untapped potential for local and foreign carriers, with a new middle class on the move and the government upgrading infrastructure including airports. Air India has sought to tap into that boom, placing a massive order two years ago for new aircraft with Airbus and Boeing to upgrade its fleet.

The new lounges, faster connection timings and more skilled ground employees are other elements that seek to improve both the airline’s profitability and the passenger experience at its hubs in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru and put the carrier back on the global map.

A storied airline with close to a century of operation history, Air India has been brought under new ownership led by the Tata Group, which was among the aviation pioneers in the country. Upon taking over, the late Ratan Tata acknowledged in a statement in late 2021 that “admittedly it will take considerable effort to rebuild Air India”, adding there was an opportunity to “regaining the image and reputation enjoyed in earlier years”.

These things can’t be turned around overnight

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson

Among the upgrades targeted by Wilson are better connection timings. For example, on a flight between Australia and Europe, a stopover in India has been reduced to 180 minutes, compared with as long as 10 hours previously. That, in turn, had helped Air India lift the percentage of transit passengers to a high single digit from practically nothing previously, he said.