Air India, a company with old problems. Ahmedabad's accident aggravates the situation of the air operator
Fragment from Air India aircraft crashed to Ahmedabad Photo: Javed Dar / Xinhua News / Profimedia
The collapse of the Air India plane threw the company into a deep crisis, endangering the ambitious plans of the father group to transform the carrier into an “world-class” airline, reports Reuters, taken over by News.ro.
After taking over Air India from the state in 2022, the father conglomerate launched a large plan for modernizing the fleet and services, in an attempt to repair the damaged image of the company, affected by years of sub-investments, frequent delays, customer complaints and financial losses.
Ceo Campbell Wilson said previously that Air India must reach the giants like Emirates. But Thursday's accident could definitely compromise this recovery.
Old aircraft and delays
Video a passenger survived the aviation tragedy in India. What did the press man say about the accident
“Newer aircraft and rigorous maintenance – only so can Air India survive,” said Vibhuti Deora, former expert at the India Aeronautical Investigation Bureau. He reminded that the company's history already includes tragedies, such as the 2010 accident, which made 158 victims or 2020 of the low-cost Air India Express, resulting in 21 dead.
The accident comes just a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the “Deplication” of the Indian air industry in the New Delhi, in front of an international audience.
“For an airline, safety is the basis of brand identity. Air India has suffered a heavy blow from this point of view,” said communication consultant Dilip Cherian.
With a fleet of 198 aircraft, of which almost 70 are over 10 years old, Air India is outdated by rivals such as Indigo, which operate newer planes. Air India Express, its low-cost division, has 101 aircraft, of which 37% are over 15 years old. The aircraft involved in the accident was 11 years old, according to Flightradar24.
Although the father placed orders for 570 new aircraft and even expanded the international network, customers continued to complain about dirty chairs, non-functional screens and delays. In the UK, Air India was designated the company with the highest delays, in 2024, with an average of 46 minutes delay in take -off.
A history marked by major tragedies
Live a plane with 242 people on board collapsed in a neighborhood in India, shortly after taking off to London / at least 290 dead, including the ground locals, says the police / MAE: there were also Romanians-photo / video
In addition to operational problems and financial losses-$ 520 million loss in 2023-2024 at revenues of 4.6 billion-the company must now manage one of the most serious aviation catastrophes in the history of India. “It is an extremely difficult day for everyone in Air India. The investigation will last,” Campbell Wilson said in a video message.
Historian Air India includes several major tragedies. In 2010, when there was a state-owned company, a Boeing 737 coming from Dubai missed the landing on an airport in southern India and collapsed in a rap, causing the death of 158 people. In 2020, an Air India Express aircraft came out of the track in Kerala, an incident with 21 deaths.
Air India, famous in the past for the luxurious services promoted by his founder, JRD Tata – the first commercial pilot of India – has undergone a significant degradation of the reputation since the mid -2000s, against the background of financial problems. He operated flights with Widebody aircraft with damaged chairs in the business class, and some of the new aircraft were kept on the ground for lack of spare parts.
When my father took over the company, Air India was “in a disastrous state,” Wilson CEO said in an interview for Reuters in 2024. He mentioned that some aircraft had not been modernized since their delivery in 2010-2011.
