Air India plans to triple its fleet of 113 jets in five years

Bloomberg

Air India Ltd is planning to triple its fleet of 113 aircraft over five years as the money-losing carrier prepares to transform the business following its takeover by India’s largest conglomerate, the Tata group.
“The airline is in discussions with aircraft and engine manufacturers on procuring new aircraft,” Air India Chief Executive Campbell Wilson said in New Delhi. “I wouldn’t put a number on it because negotiations are still ongoing. We also have a view on the proportion of wide and narrowbody and the increase is going to be a significant number of both.”
Boeing Co is offering 737 Max jets once meant for Chinese customers to Air India as the planemaker tries to offload some of the roughly 140 aircraft it’s currently not allowed to deliver to the country, Bloomberg News reported. Air India is considering ordering as many as 300 narrowbody aircraft to revamp its fleet, according to a June Bloomberg report. The airline is planning to induct 25 Airbus SE and five Boeing aircraft from lessors starting December, it said last month.
Air India expects to increase its domestic and international market share to 30% in five years, said Wilson, who was previously with Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s budget unit. The first phase of the transformation will address issues such as on-time performance, food and refunds that are “tarnishing” Air India’s brand, he said. In the second phase, Air India will accelerate investment in people, systems and equipment. It will aspire to become a “world-class” airline towards the end of the five-year overhaul plan, Wilson said.
The airline has restored 17 grounded aircraft and 12 are yet to return to service. It is in discussions with suppliers to refurbish existing wide-body aircraft, which will require significant engineering work, he said.

New Indian airline ekes out 1% share of crowded skies
India’s newest carrier Akasa Air took a 0.9% share of the domestic market in September, its first full month operating in a country where almost a dozen airlines vie for passengers.
The low-cost carrier, backed by the billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala who died in August at the age of 62, is trying to muscle into a market that continues to be dominated by IndiGo, which had a nearly 58% share in September, according to data published by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Akasa started flying between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on August 7 using Boeing Co. 737 aircraft. It expanded to Bengaluru and Kochi later in the month, and its website shows it now flies to New Delhi, Guwahati, Agartala and Chennai.
The carrier’s debut came at a particularly turbulent time in Indian aviation, which had been rocked by the Covid pandemic as well as a spate of mid-flight incidents involving various carriers that led to inspections by the regulator.
Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube has said that Akasa is financially strong enough to place larger orders and expand its fleet to 72 aircraft within five years.
Competition among India carriers in September was fairly even beyond IndiGo, which is operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. Singapore Airlines-backed Vistara and Air India Ltd. both took about 9% market share, and SpiceJet Ltd. grabbed 7.3%, according to the DGCA.