Air India completed its phase of transformation plan dubbed Vihhan.AI. This included placing a record-setting aircraft order; committing $400 million to refurbish existing aircraft; investing $200 million to upgrade IT systems; restoring in-flight entertainment systems; and hiring 3,800 new employees.
The airlines had dubbed Phase I as ‘Taxi’ as it was all about addressing legacy issues of the airline and laying the foundation for future growth, the airline said in a release.
Air India onboarded more than 3,800 staff across crew and other functions and rolled out more than 29 new policies for employees in the last six months as part of the initiatives under its five-year transformation plan.
Campbell Wilson, MD, CEO, Air India said: “The first six months of the transformation journey has made great strides in tackling many issues that had built up over the years and the airline has come a long way in establishing foundations for growth. "As we move into our Take Off phase, we will start seeing these investments bear fruit.”
The second phase will witness the consolidation of AirAsia India and Air India Express, Merging of Vistara with Air India following regulatory approvals and development of a world-class training academy.
Apart from launching premium economy seats for the first time on select long-haul flights, Air India has revamped its menus on international and domestic routes.
Comprehensive spares and support agreements have been reached to improve worldwide reliability and a performance improvement program is underway with Boeing to improve the reliability of 787 planes.
"In-flight Entertainment (IFE) systems have been restored to working order on nearly all first and business-class seats, with economy seats being up to nearly 90 per cent," the release said.
The airline has also reactivated more than 10 codeshare agreements and in active alliance discussions with other airlines.