(Bloomberg) -- Air India Ltd. has had to “recalibrate” its ambitious growth plans as delays in deliveries of new planes and supply chain snags hamper the efforts to transform the Tata Group-owned carrier, according to Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson.
“If aircraft don’t come, we obviously can’t mount the new services that we want. We can’t present the product to the customer that we want,” Wilson said in an interview with Haslinda Amin on Bloomberg Television Friday. “We are all having to recalibrate our expectations and plans in light of this constraint that’s beyond our control.”
Wilson’s comments outline the continuing challenges for the unprofitable carrier that combined with another Tata-owned full service carrier, Vistara, in a messy mega merger. Singapore Airlines Ltd., which was a joint venture partner in Vistara, has an about 25% stake in the enlarged airline with a combined fleet of 300 aircraft.
Air India is also looking at ways to expand its partnership with Singapore Airlines, he added. Air India used to be India’s flag carrier before the salt-to-software conglomerate acquired it in 2021.
Wilson is charged with leading the carrier’s revival and transformation from a loss-making, state-run carrier that has faced a barrage of flier complaints in recent months.
Air India has refitted about a third of the narrowbody planes it got from the previous owner and the overhaul should be done by mid-2025, he said. In early 2025, the refurbishing of 40 widebody jets should start in a process that may take around two years, according to Wilson, who added that the shortage of seats had slowed down the process.
The carrier has ordered around 500 new Airbus SE and Boeing Co. aircraft to match its ambitions to be among other similar world class airlines like Singapore Airlines and Emirates. “Air India is now taking its place at the table of the large global airlines,” Wilson said.
--With assistance from Naman Tandon and Advait Palepu.
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