NEW DELHI: Air India’s transformation to a world class airline post its return to founder Tata Group in 2022 could take upto a decade due to serious headwinds the aviation industry in general and the Maharaja in particular have encountered in recent years. The earlier assessment of giving the airline a facelift in five years under the Vihaan programme has proven to be a grossly optimistic one, requiring a reset of the timelines.“Given where it began, Air India’s transformation must be seen as a five- to ten-year journey, considering the years-long supply chain disruptions in key components, the need to overhaul legacy systems, culture and fleet, and the creation of a large cadre of technical and airline professionals,” Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said in the company’s annual report for 2025-26.While remaining optimistic about AI and reiterating the group’s commitment to the airline, he lists the issues the airline has faced that have caused the timeline overrun: “Few businesses are as vulnerable to war and fuel pressures as aviation. This year, Air India faced three external headwinds. Airspace closures; West Asia conflict-driven fuel price hikes and foreign exchange fluctuations; and the crash of AI171 made it the most challenging year for Air India. At every stage, Air India’s teams responded with resilience and adaptability.”The combined impact of all these factors made Air India report a loss of Rs 22,238 crore in FY 26, as opposed to a loss of Rs 10,859 crore a year earlier. Also the flight reductions that started with Operation Sindoor last year and then compounded post AI 171 crash and the recent West Asia crisis saw AI FY 26 revenue fall to Rs 71,870 crore, from Rs 78,636 crore in the previous fiscal. The Tatas are currently looking for a new CEO for AI as incumbent Campbell Wilson will be leaving shortly. In the interim, Chandra is directly supervising the affairs of the company with the support of a team led by former AI CMD (of PSU days) and ex aviation secretary P S Kharola.The group is not giving up on AI and has long term plans for the company. “In 2047, the centennial of Indian independence, a young Indian will board an Air India plane, built with Indian components, chips fabricated on Indian soil, protected by defence systems built in India… A nation of 1.4 billion people, with one of the world’s fastest growing economies, deserves a world-class flag carrier. Rebuilding Air India is a long journey: fleet renewal, training, service transformation, network expansion. Every great airline in history was built over decades, not quarters,” he says.“Significant progress has been made in the transformation journey. The narrow body aircrafts for domestic routes have been refurbished and have been receiving strong positive customer feedback. The wide body aircrafts are expected to complete refurbishment by end of FY28…. Currently, Air India has the best on-time arrival performance in India (June 2026). Our commitment is to give India a carrier that connects it to the world with pride, creates hundreds of thousands of jobs across aviation, tourism and logistics, and makes India a global aviation hub rather than a market others fly through,” he added.
