Air India plans to add more than 100 aircraft over the next two years as part of its ongoing overhaul, despite facing geopolitical tensions, volatile fuel costs, and a leadership change, according to CEO Campbell Wilson.
Air India plans to bring in more than 100 aircraft over the next two years as it presses ahead with its overhaul, even as the carrier navigates volatile fuel costs, airspace restrictions and a leadership handover, chief executive Campbell Wilson said on Thursday.
Speaking at a quarterly staff town hall in New Delhi, Wilson said the airline remained committed to the profit path despite a difficult operating backdrop that has included geopolitical tension, disruption in West Asia, higher fuel prices and a weaker rupee. He said the group’s transformation programme was continuing to make steady progress.
According to PTI, Wilson told employees that annual salary increases will take effect from October 1 and that a revised pay structure for pilots will also begin on the same date. The news agency, citing sources, said the increment cycle had been delayed by a quarter earlier this year because turmoil in West Asia was affecting operations and costs. PTI also reported that 16 Boeing 787-8 aircraft are due to be retrofitted in 2027.
Air India and Air India Express now operate nearly 300 aircraft, with the parent airline’s fleet including 35 Boeing 787s, 19 Boeing 777-300ERs and six Airbus A350-900s. PTI said two more A350-1000s are due in 2026, while earlier reports from Business Standard and The Economic Times said the carrier’s wider five-year revamp, known as Vihaan.AI, has centred on fleet renewal, service upgrades and network growth, with 570 aircraft on order. Wilson has previously described the effort as a top-to-bottom reset and said the airline’s foundations have been rebuilt over the past four years.
The remarks come as Air India prepares for a change at the top, with former Ethiopian Airlines Group chief Tewolde Gebremariam set to succeed Wilson as CEO and managing director. The company is also under regulatory scrutiny after the August 4 Phuket-Delhi incident, in which the aircraft reportedly lost 300 feet in altitude and the pilot in command tested positive for a psychoactive substance, according to PTI. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is probing the episode.
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