Air India's post-privatisation turnaround stalled

11 Apr 2024 CW Team

In January 2022, it was reported that Tata Group had taken over Air India from the government, sparking hopes for India's debt-ridden, loss-making, and grossly inefficient flag carrier, which had been run into the ground by successive governments. Two years later, it was revealed that Tata was facing challenges in its efforts to turn the airline around. Despite having a roadmap to restore its former glory, Tata was struggling with the process of merging its four airlines: Vistara, jointly owned with Singapore Airlines, and Air India into a full-service carrier, and Air India Express with AIX Connect into a low-cost airline. Despite implementing several measures to revive the struggling airline, Tata had yet to bring it back to the prestigious status it once held before its nationalisation in 1953.

A potential obstacle to the merger emerged as Air India encountered various difficulties on its transformational journey. The merger of Vistara with Air India encountered a setback when Vistara pilots initiated a strike. Since April 1, Vistara had cancelled more than 125 flights due to a number of its pilots taking sick leave at the end of March. Some of these pilots were protesting against a downward revision in pay ahead of the merger with Air India later in the year, citing growing fatigue from a busy schedule. Vistara's CEO Vinod Kannan stated that operations were expected to return to normal by May as the issues causing flight disruptions, primarily a stretched pilot roster, were being addressed. Kannan apologised to affected customers and emphasized that such disruptions were not typical of the airline's service standards.

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