Outdated fleet and seats, supply woes hobble Air India's turnaround

Two years after Tata Group took control of Air India in a $2.4b deal, re-kitting an ageing fleet amid parts shortages and persistent flight delays stand in the way of the former state-owned carrier's intent to become "a world class airline". Global shortages are hurting plans for most airlines, but the problem is "more acute" for Air India, CEO Campbell Wilson said, as India's flag carrier is nearing the halfway mark of a five-year turnaround plan but starting a generation behind rivals like Dubai's Emirates and Qatar Airways. "Our product is obviously a lot more dated. These aircraft haven't had a product refresh since they were delivered in sort of 2010, 2011. And so it's more of an acute need for us," CEO Wilson said in an interview in Sydney. "If we've got legacy seats and legacy in-flight entertainment systems, we're operating with one arm tied behind our back," he said. The challenges are the biggest at the premium end of the plane as Air India looks to lure high-spending travellers, added Wilson, a former Singapore Airlines executive. Air India has already placed mammoth orders to upgrade its fleet and just this month kicked off a $400m plan to refit old planes to drive its transformation. The carrier's restructuring after decades of decay under state ownership is being watched by manufacturers and lessors, as well as investors in Singapore Airlines - which is set to own a 25% stake in the Indian carrier from November and has agreed to invest an additional up to $600m in the turnaround. "Air India ... has a long way to go before being closer to international standards for which it needs to complete the process of re-kitting with new and retrofitted aircraft," Singapore-based independent aviation analyst Brendan Sobie said.<br/>