File picture of Campbell Wilson, MD and CEO of Air India
| Photo Credit: R. Ravindran

Air India will be retrofitting more than 100 planes, including 40 wide body planes, and has ordered around 25,000 aircraft seats as part of revamping the fleet, its chief Campbell Wilson said on Wednesday.

Emphasising that “plenty of things” are going on as part of the transformation at Air India, Mr. Wilson said the focus is on integration, growth, optimisation and customer experience.

ALSO READ | ‘A passenger boarding Air India must be pleasantly surprised’: CEO Campbell Wilson 

As part of Tata Group consolidating its aviation business, AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, is getting merged with Air India Express and Vistara with Air India.

There is “immense flexibility” for the group whether it is full or low cost services and “we are in a good position,” the Air India CEO and MD said at the CAPA India Aviation Summit here.

According to him, Air India will be retrofitting more than 100 aircraft and has also ordered around 25,000 seats as part of retrofitting the planes.

About costs for the airline industry, Mr. Wilson said airfares have been underperforming overall inflation.

Air India has embarked on a five-year transformation plan, with Mr. Wilson saying there are “plenty of things” going on.

The new Air India is not old Air India and “people (airlines) now want to dance with us,” Mr. Wilson said while talking about changes and possible partnerships.

On bilateral rights, the Air India chief said there should be a pragmatic approach.

NEW DELHI:

The chief executives of Air India and Akasa Air have privately exchanged barbs over the poaching of pilots, with the latter accusing its bigger rival of rule violations, provoking a reply that collusion to curb job switching can breach competition law.

The exchange, detailed in a Sept. 21 letter seen by Reuters, spotlights growing competition in India’s aviation market, as a strong rebound in air travel after the pandemic, coupled with a flurry of orders for new aircraft, led to a shortage of pilots.

The rare verbal and written confrontations between the airlines’ chief executives were detailed in the letter, sent by Campbell Wilson of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group conglomerate, to Vinay Dube of low-cost airline Akasa.

It followed a telephone call between them and a missive Dube had sent expressing his concerns to the Tata Group.

The Sept 21 letter shows Air India pushed back after Akasa accused it of contravening government policies that mandate a notice period of six to 12 months for pilots, rules that Indian pilots’ groups are challenging in court.

Wilson told his counterpart the government rules were “not currently enforceable”, adding that Akasa itself had “previously engaged in the same actions” by poaching pilots from Tata Group’s budget carrier, Air India Express, and other airlines.

“It was a little surprising to us that Akasa now found the practice objectionable,” Wilson wrote in the letter, which Reuters is reporting for the first time.

Akasa did not comment on its communication with Air India, but said the issue of pilot exits was “now behind us … we are squarely back in growth mode”.

Air India declined to comment and the two chief executives did not respond to requests for comment.

The dispute comes at the time of a hiring spree by Air India, with its arm, Air India Express, seeking to more than triple its fleet to 170 over five years.

In recent weeks, Akasa has lost about a tenth of its 450 pilots, who left without serving out notice periods, some to join Air India Express.

In September, Akasa said it feared a shutdown and sued some pilots, as well as the aviation watchdog, for not coming to its aid, in lawsuits still pending in the courts.

In his letter, Wilson added that he had “cautioned” Dube during their telephone call that asking a competitor to collude in curbing employees’ rights to switch employers “could be construed as potentially a contravention of competition law”.

“I regret that you interpreted my courtesy of taking your call and listening to your request as assent,” he added.

The Federation of Indian Pilots has described the alleged mass resignations from Akasa as an “indication” of employee discontent, while India’s aviation watchdog has said it cannot interfere in matters related to employment contracts.

India’s newest airline, Akasa started flying in 2022, garnering a market share of 4%. It competes with IndiGo, which commands a share of 60% and Tata Group’s airlines that together have a share of 25.7%.

In the Sept 21 letter, Air India’s Wilson expressed the hope that Akasa would make investments to “attract, retain and develop” its own staff, adding that his airline looked forward to “continuing healthy competition”.

Air India has been a CFM customer since 2002 when it began operating A320 neo aircraft powered by CFM56-5B engines.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Air India and CFM International have finalised the order for LEAP engines for the carrier’s new fleet of 400 narrow-body planes.

The engines will power 210 Airbus A320/A321 neo and 190 Boeing 737 MAX family aircraft.

“Both companies also signed a multi-year services agreement that will cover the airline’s entire fleet of LEAP engines,” CFM said in a release on Thursday.

The order was first announced in February.

Air India has been a CFM customer since 2002 when it began operating A320 neo aircraft powered by CFM56-5B engines.

In 2017, the airline began operating the A320 neo, becoming the first LEAP-1A-powered operator in India. The airline currently has 27 LEAP-1A-powered A320neo family aircraft in its fleet, the release said.

Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said, “We are delighted to celebrate with CFM a major deal that will play a key role in our future development.”

CFM International President and CEO Gaël Méheust said the order strengthens its presence in India.

Earlier this year, Air India placed orders for 470 aircraft, including 70 wide-body ones. CFM International is an equal joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.