Challenges abound as Tata draws up a flight plan for Air India
Tata Sons' US$2.4b purchase of debt-ridden, government-owned Air India will give the conglomerate immediate access to valuable flying rights and landing slots that will help it claw back market share from foreign rivals. But industry executives warn any success will be a long and complicated process that could cost it more than US$1 billion and require fixing myriad problems, including the airline's worn-out fleet, poor service and lack of a charismatic leader. Air India, with its maharajah mascot, was once renowned for its lavishly decorated planes and stellar service championed by the airline's founder, JRD Tata, India's first commercial pilot. But since the mid-2000s, its reputation has fallen as financial troubles mounted. It flew wide-body planes with business class seats in poor repair and grounded some of its new Boeing 787 Dreamliners to use for spare parts. Customers faced many delays and staff and suppliers were not always paid on time, executives said. "If you don't have newer airplanes or airplanes that are reliable, no matter what you do, you are going to have a problem," said a veteran aviation industry executive, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-10-20/star/challenges-abound-as-tata-draws-up-a-flight-plan-for-air-india
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Challenges abound as Tata draws up a flight plan for Air India
Tata Sons' US$2.4b purchase of debt-ridden, government-owned Air India will give the conglomerate immediate access to valuable flying rights and landing slots that will help it claw back market share from foreign rivals. But industry executives warn any success will be a long and complicated process that could cost it more than US$1 billion and require fixing myriad problems, including the airline's worn-out fleet, poor service and lack of a charismatic leader. Air India, with its maharajah mascot, was once renowned for its lavishly decorated planes and stellar service championed by the airline's founder, JRD Tata, India's first commercial pilot. But since the mid-2000s, its reputation has fallen as financial troubles mounted. It flew wide-body planes with business class seats in poor repair and grounded some of its new Boeing 787 Dreamliners to use for spare parts. Customers faced many delays and staff and suppliers were not always paid on time, executives said. "If you don't have newer airplanes or airplanes that are reliable, no matter what you do, you are going to have a problem," said a veteran aviation industry executive, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.<br/>
