A Star Reborn? Air India Transformation

Air India’s story is often recounted as a cautionary tale—a once-proud airline that fell from grace. Over the years, it became synonymous with poor service, tardiness and a steady stream of negative headlines.

Originally founded in 1932 by J.R.D. Tata as Tata Airlines, it blossomed into Air India through nationalization, with J.R.D Tata himself staying on as Chairman. Under his visionary leadership, Air India set out to redefine air travel, introducing the world to Asian hospitality in the skies. It made bold moves, like becoming Asia’s first airline to operate the Boeing 707 and betting big on the iconic Boeing 747.

There was a time in the 1960s when the ‘Maharaja’ was among the world’s most recognised corporate mascots… Such was the regard in which it was held that other Asian airlines followed its model and, as in the case of Singapore Airlines, asked for its help.

However, by the late 1970s, Air India lost its autonomy, with J.R.D. Tata ousted. Politics and bureaucracy tightened their grip, and the airline’s decline began.

Then, in a twist of fate, the Tata Group reclaimed Air India in 2022 with a bold vision: “To build a world-class airline” Backed by an unprecedented order of up to 500 new aircraft—valued at a staggering $70 billion—the airline set out on a mission to restore its former glory.

Three years into this ambitious transformation, I decided to experience the change for myself. It was my first time stepping onto an Air India plane, and I felt a mix of excitement and apprehension.

While I intend to do a full review of their A350 Business Class on the flagship Delhi to London route, I want to cover aspects of A.I transformation and some highlights of my experience from recent flights, which collectively left me genuinely impressed..

Air India Transformation: Business Class Products

I’ve gone over the finer details of the ex Aeroflot A350 Business Class Suite product, so I will not do so here again, other than to summarize it is an excellent modern product. Air India has made some subtle colour/finish changes..

To modernize some of it aging fleet elsewhere, Air India has leased many aircrafts, including:

Ex-Delta Airlines Boeing 777s featuring the Delta One Business Class product. These cabins were retrofitted as recently as 2018 before being retired during the pandemic.

Ex-Etihad Airways aircraft, which offer a solid, though slightly dated, product. While not as cutting-edge as the A350 or Delta retrofits, they still represent a significant upgrade compared to Air India’s previous offerings.

These upgrades are only the beginning. The airline’s future deliveries will feature the new Saffron Unity cabin, a high-end product that will debut on all upcoming A350 aircraft…

For short-haul routes, Air India is rapidly taking delivery of new A320 aircraft, and these feature decent recliner Business Class seats..

The colour scheme of the interior offer a smart and modern feel..

Not stopping there, Air India also offers a Premium Economy on these A320 – notice the spacing of the first two rows on the picture above? There are three rows of Premium economy seats with 34″ pitch for better comfort in short domestic and international flights.

This passengers on long-haul Premium Economy itineraries can  experience a consistent level of comfort on shorter connecting sectors too. The service offering is also enhanced with more luggage allowance etc.

These new A320 additions not only enhance the passenger experience but also bring a sleek, modern look to the fleet.

Air India 787 & 777 Retrofit

Air India is set to retrofit 40 of its Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft as part of a $400 million investment, beginning in April 2025.

This extensive program includes the introduction of Thales’ AVANT Up inflight entertainment system, ensuring a modern, world-class onboard experience. While the project was originally scheduled for late 2024, delays beyond the airline’s control have pushed the timeline forward.

Merger With Vistara Is Complete

The planned merger with Vistara officially concluded in November 2024. With this, Air India takes over Vistara’s Boeing 787-900s that are in far better shape than it’s legacy Dreamliner’s.

I had flown Vistara several times over the years – including just the week before their official merger. As far as customers were concerned, Vistara was an order of magnitude ahead as a carrier. Whilst it was all Vistara crew and Vistara aircraft, I saw elements of a new Air India identity taking on.

Vistara’s frequent flyer programme was already winded down with the introduction of the joint new Maharaja Club.

A Renewed Focus on Service Excellence

Alongside slick new staff uniforms, the airline has adopted a more customer focused service ethos, and this is showing across the board. On one instance, I witnessed crew members calmly and professionally handle a challenging customer – an testament to better staff training.

Every flight I have stepped foot in was one where I was greeted by a sense of warmth, witnessed and orderly ebb and flow of mostly happy customers, giving me a sense that I was in a safe, clean and well-maintained environment.

New branding elements are visible elsewhere from fresh aircraft livery followed through with strong soft authentic branding touches and Chinaware onboard.

The service I have experienced has been on par with what you would expect from a top international airline.

In some areas, Air India is already outperforming competitors. On the Delhi/Mumbai–London route, for instance, the airline competes directly with Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. It already offers a far superior hard product, higher end soft amenities and from what I could see, better food offering than both these carriers.

I wrote of an instance of coming off a Virgin Atlantic Upper Class flight from Delhi to London hungry – due to just one proper meal service on a 10 hour flight. Air India offers two full meals on these flights regardless of flight timing, as they should in Business Class !

The catering quality did not disappoint either..

To top it off, it also offers unlimited free WiFi throughout the flight !

All the crew I’ve come across have been attentive, and in areas even went above and beyond what I expected.

Technology Driving Efficiency

Air India’s investment in technology is enhancing punctuality and customer communication.

Operation management was another bright spot. My connecting domestic flight to London was delayed by 25 minutes. Thanks to proactive systems, I was automatically rebooked on the later flight and notified via the new mobile App and WhatsApp before I even had to approach airport staff.

Final Thoughts

Air India’s ambitious transformation under the Tata Group is progressing impressively. There may yet me more challenges along the journey, but I feel confident Tata Group can bring Air India up to the world class international airline it envisions.

With such a storied history, I’m genuinely excited to see the turnaround progress and to fly with Air India again soon. There’s a newfound sense of identity and purpose in the air, signalling the dawn of a new era. This is being noticed elsewhere —Virgin Atlantic, for example, now operates A350s exclusively on its Delhi rotations.

It is fascinating to learn that Singapore Airlines, often regarded as the gold standard in aviation, was originally modelled after Air India’s glory days. Since for most of us this was decades before we were even born.

Today, Tata Group has the opportunity to revive that legacy. Besides taking inspiration from Singapore Airlines, it can leverage its expertise from within, the Taj Group, a globally respected hospitality brand.