Dec 27, 2024 01:50 PM IST
The year 2024 was transformative for Air India and Indian aviation in many ways following the completion of two major mergers — Air India Express with AirAsia India and Air India with Vistara.
Come 2025, Air India will focus on retrofitting its aircraft with new seats and services to elevate its service standards, chief executive officer (CEO) Campbell Wilson said on Friday.
In an internal communication to its employees, Wilson said, “…2025 will see progress on many key initiatives, such as refitting our widebody and remaining narrowbody aircraft with new seats and services, further elevating Air India’s service standards, raising the bar on what we consider “good”, and more consistently delivering to those new expectations. We will also strengthen and tighten our practices and processes so that we are not just consistent, we are also efficient and, ultimately, profitable.”
“With Air India, Vistara, Air India Express and AirAsia now under one roof, and all the uncertainties and challenges of merger receding into history, we must now look forward, as a united team, to a common destination… We will be working hard in 2025, with you, to embed this deeply into our DNA,” he said to the employees.
The year 2024 was transformative for Air India and Indian aviation in many ways following the completion of two major mergers — Air India Express with AirAsia India and Air India with Vistara. Combined, 30,000 Air Indians now operate 300 aircraft across both brands, flying over 60 million passengers annually to more than 100 destinations in India and around the world.
The airline achieved several significant milestones this year, including the launch of India’s first A350 aircraft, the addition of 100 more aircraft to its extensive orderbook, the inauguration of a state-of-the-art training academy in Gurugram, the commencement of construction for a new maintenance base ( for maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft) in Bengaluru, and the establishment of a 34-aircraft flight school in Amravati, Maharashtra.
“We commenced the interior refit of our full-service narrowbody fleet, opened the first of our new premium passenger lounges in Bengaluru, and restructured our network to ensure that the best aircraft serve key routes, including domestic metro-metros and flagship destinations such as London Heathrow and New York,” Wilson said.
Stating that 2025 will be no less transformative in its own way, he said, “We are barely half-way through our 5-year Vihaan.AI transformation journey, with so much more to do, and so much more expected of us.”
Meanwhile, India’s largest airline by market share – IndiGo – turned 18 in 2024 and launched business class on the Delhi-Mumbai route along with its loyalty programme.
“As we look ahead to 2025, IndiGo remains committed to its values and customer promises. The strong execution of our strategy has yielded consistent results. Aligning with India’s vision to establish itself as an aviation hub, IndiGo is on its way to becoming one of the global leaders in aviation,” the airline’s CEO Piter Elbers said.
After crossing 100 million passengers last year, the airline expects to log over 112 million customers in 2024. It has a fleet of over 400 aircraft and has placed an order for A350-900 widebodies.
Serving 126 destinations (89 domestic and 37 international) and over 500 non-stop city-pairs, IndiGo will be receiving its XLR aircraft next year.
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