To focus on boosting revenue, reducing cost & regain market share: GebremariamNEW DELHI: Having “punched below its weight” for too long, Air India is now considering a fresh order for more wide body aircraft to “regain market share from competition ” as that “business belongs to AI”.While the “short-term” poses multiple “challenges”, the “long term is a huge opportunity” and the deep in red airline could be profitable “very soon” by focusing on cutting costs and boosting revenue and efficiency, said AI CEO Tewolde Gebremariam, while outlining his plans for the carrier for the first time.“Air India is Tata’s baby and they want to see it grow. It is an opportunity for AI to be (back with) Tatas. Yes, there are challenges and profitability is a concern, but together we will make AI great again by keeping one eye on navigating headwinds today and the other on the future,” the veteran from Ethiopian Airlines said at Aviation India 2026 on Tuesday.
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AI lost a record Rs 22,238 crore last fiscal and the group (including AI Express) has bled over Rs 58,000 crore since the Tata takeover in Jan 2022, something that is causing concern among promoters Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, with the Maharaja seeking fresh fund infusion. While the report of tragic AI 171 Ahmedabad crash last June is awaited, continuing geopolitical issues pose a greater challenge to Indian carriers due to the closure of Pakistan airspace for them.Tewolde said how AI is tackling these issues. “We have created multi function cost teams and the focus is on increasing efficiency. We are increasing synergy between AI and AI Express so that they can share common functions (and cut costs). We have to bring our unit cost lower to the industry level,” he said.For increasing revenue, AI is “rebalancing” its hub network as no one knows how long the Pakistan airspace closure will last. “Pakistan airspace closure affects flights between the West and Delhi. So, we are adding more flights to the West from Mumbai and to South and Southeast from Delhi. We are exploring Bengaluru as our third hub,” he said.AI Group has about 600 aircraft on order from Airbus and Boeing, with only 80 of them being wide body. With an eye on increasing traffic to and from India, and the 3 crore Indian diaspora globally “wanting to travel AI” once the airline improves overall, Tewolde feels there is a case for “increasing wide body order” without disclosing any numbers.“We have many of them (wide bodies), but we need more. The market demand is huge and the network is not served enough. India can establish global hubs in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. We have to regain market share from (foreign) competition with the right product. Air India was punching below its weight. It may take some time but that will change.”
