Air India sets out really ambitious goals for itself in new turnaround plan

Vihaan.AI. That’s the name of Air India’s new strategic plan that would see the once respected flag carrier recapture some of its prestige over the next five years. Under the plan unveiled Monday, Air India aims to boost its domestic market share to 30%, “significantly grow” its international market share, and make needed improvements in the customer experience, operational reliability, and other aspects of its business, the airline said. “This is the beginning of a historic transformation for Air India,” CEO Campbell Wilson said. “Vihaan.AI is our transformation plan to make Air India the world class airline it once was, and that it deserves to be again. We are absolutely focussed on being recognized as a world-class airline serving global customers, with a proudly Indian heart.” Wilson, and his management team put in place under Tata ownership, have their work cut out for them. Since Air India was nationalized in 1953, it has languished among the globe’s state-owned airlines. In recent years, the country’s private airlines, particularly IndiGo, have dominated the domestic market. And foreign competitors, like Emirates, carry much of India’s longhaul international traffic. Air India only had an 8.5% share of the country’s domestic market — a far cry from the target 30% — from January through August, according to the latest India Directorate General of Civil Aviation data. Tata’s other airline, Vistara, which is a joint venture with Singapore Airlines — where Wilson worked before taking the helm of Air India — had a 9.2% share, and market leader IndiGo a 56% share. And internationally, Air India had just over a 13% of passengers in Q1, the DGCA’s latest data show. <br/>