Overdue brand reboot aims to rescue Air India’s image

Bloomberg

Almost a year has passed since India’s biggest conglomerate bought Air India Ltd, promising to turn it into a world-class airline. Reviving the carrier and winning over passengers won’t be easy.
A run of 15 years without profit has taken its toll. While Air India remains a high-profile operator in one of the world’s biggest aviation markets, customer complaints about a decline in standards have hurt its reputation. Reports of incidents such as ants and rats on planes, cockroaches in food and even a bat (animal, not cricket) flying around a cabin mid-journey haven’t helped.
Tata Group, which paid 180 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) to buy Air India back from the government, has a five-year transformation plan called Vihaan — Sanskrit for new dawn. UK-based FutureBrand was brought in to help with the makeover, which could include dropping the airline’s “outdated” Maharajah mascot, local media reported.
There’s a “desperate need to improve its product and service,” said Shashank Nigam, CEO of airline brand-strategy firm SimpliFlying. “To win both the hearts and wallets of customers, Air India needs to get this right. If you’re looking for a step change that will probably come around 2024.” Campbell Wilson, who shifted from Singapore Airlines Ltd’s low-cost unit to become Air India CEO over the summer, told reporters that aircraft interiors will be refurbished, including seats, cushions and carpets.
Nigam said Air India needs to position itself as a progressive brand that caters to younger people, which is particularly important given India’s demographics and sheer size of its young population. By previously branding itself as the custodian of Indian culture and heritage, the airline gave off an impression of being old fashioned and stuck in time, he said, adding that its fleet is old and “needs urgent rejuvenation.”
As part of the reinvention, new style rules have been issued for cabin crew, including a requirement for male attendants to shave their heads if they have deep receding hairlines or bald patches. A huge order for aircraft is also in the works and the carrier has leased dozens of planes. In his biography Beyond The Last Blue Mountain, Air India’s founder JRD Tata said he wanted the carrier’s service, food and brand image to be unrivaled, leaving passengers with no reason to complain.
Air India is up against younger operators, with the likes of Akasa entering the market and Jet Airways Ltd aiming to return. IndiGo, controlled by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, dominates with its low-cost services, taking more than half of the domestic market. Air India aims to have a 30% share of India’s local and international passenger traffic in five years, versus about 9% now.
Air India has the best on-time performance among Indian carriers, at 90.8%, according to the nation’s aviation regulator. The airline is leasing more aircraft and stepping up staff training, with plans to bring in hundreds of cabin crew and dozens of pilots as air travel recovers.