Before the pandemic Air India was on the verge of collapse as a state-owned enterprise. Cabin interiors had fallen into disrepair. Executives stole from the airline and crew upgraded their friends and failed to provide service. They had become a financial albatross for the government, and an airline for passengers to avoid.
It took years for the airline to get its tech house in order to join Star Alliance, after merging with Indian Airlines. It has the market and global platform though, and now the airline has been privatized.
They’ve placed one of the largest aircraft orders in history to refresh their fleet and prepare for growth as flag carrier in a country destined to be larger than China.
And they’re upgrading their cabins:
The next easy win – and less expensive than new planes and cabins, but still visually apparent to passengers – is new Manish Malhotra-designed uniforms for crew, which will debut with Air India’s first Airbus A350 entering commercial service.
Crafted by Indian celebrity couturier, Manish Malhotra, in his Mumbai atelier, the new uniforms feature an array of colours and timeless designs. The collection mirrors a rare, harmonious blend of rich Indian heritage and aesthetics with 21st-century style, elegance, and comfort.
The new uniforms will be introduced in a phased manner over the next few months, starting with the entry of service of Air India’s first Airbus A350.
It’s part of the airline’s new brand identity that is aimed at transforming how people think about the airline, under new owners making big investments. This is not your state-owned enterprise anymore.
Credit: Air India
Credit: Air India
The airline used to promote that travel with them was like visiting India, but the good parts. Maybe that’ll become true?
Is your view of Air India changing, or will they need to fly the new planes and new interiors, and show that corporate investments translate into inflight service before you’ll believe that they’re different?
As someone who suffered at the hands of Air India many times (as a former Indian), I will have to read tons and tons of good reviews before I ever give them my business again. Many better and cheaper ways to fly to India on miles exist.
Vistara is my preferred carrier in India, and they are largely owned by the same Tata which owns Air India and has done a good job in the hospitality sector. So it augurs improvements, but there is still a ways and then some for Air India to get where it needs to get before I would choose them over other carriers or consider them decent enough to not be inclined to book away.
About the new attire, the pilot attire with the overcoat thing rubs me as being too 1940s militaristic.
One of the few Asia-based carriers I would absolutely refuse to fly.
Never mind the damn uniforms. You can change the uniforms, change the seats, fiddle with the menus all you want. A fundamentally broken technical / professional culture takes many years to change. It’s not impossible, but I don’t think AI will change enough to inspire confidence in my lifetime.
Hey, I like the overcoats. I saw United in overcoats also (in DEL), could be an India thing?
I’d rather not get urinated on.
https://viewfromthewing.com/woman-urinated-on-in-air-india-business-class/
https://viewfromthewing.com/another-air-india-passenger-urinates-on-woman-inflight/
India has already passed China in population per many reports of that happening by mid 2023 based on United Nations statistics.
Granted these investments are impressive, but the Delhi lounges remain very substandard (my shower stall reeked of sewage, and F&B is very inferior to the PP lounge). Also their IT needs a bit overhaul. I received a boarding pass for a domestic flight online, I got through security, then learned at the gate that I hadn’t really checked in, and my seat had been given away! All this was last month.
Being an expat airline pilot that lived and worked in India, and being the perfect gentleman that I am, one should always mention the positive, even if it’s just one thing. Hold on . . . nevermind.
It will take years for the culture to change as in India service staff are viewed as demeaning jobs. AI will benefit however from the non stops from North America to avoid the one stoppers via Asia or Europe as well as the food tends to be authentically Indian. Would not fly AI for say another five years at a minimum.
Have flown thrice via AI during the last one year in the India SFO sector.
The interior and in flight service has improved. But the several hours delay has become order of the day. They should improve on that score.
Cabin crew were excellent during the recent flight from BOM to SFO ,but not the ground staff service .
AI talks a good game about incoming changes but talk is cheap, whiskey costs money. Still, the new uniforms look snazzy.
Dammit, I just scrolled through BA and OMAAT already used the snazzy description. I’m not trying to plagiarize Ben.
Changing the culture of Air India is not easy. They need to re-train all staff to have a chance at turning it around.
Is the shoe carnival going to start at Indian airport security checkpoints or when flying Air India to India?
After yesterday’s incident — that too 22 years to the date of a deadly terrorist attack on the Indian parliament — which had some Member of Parliament-invited visitors allegedly use their footwear to smuggle into the building and then toss a couple of smoke canisters toward Members of Parliament during an active session of Parliament, perhaps the Indian government will also revisit airport security screening measures too.