As increasing aviation traffic results in airport congestion, India’s air transport infrastructure will need to keep pace by expanding fleets, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson told AIN during a recent interview. Air India recently ordered 470 aircraft for replacement and new additions to its handicapped fleet.
According to the Center for Aviation (CAPA) India, the country’s domestic aviation industry will expand by a rate of 20 percent from the end of 2023 to the close of 2024, from 137 million to 160 million passengers. International traffic will recover more slowly as 2023 closes with about 58 million passengers, compared with 66.5 million in 2020 and around 69 million in 2019. By 2024, however, international traffic will exceed pre-Covid levels and reach 72 million passengers. Indian airlines by that time will see a net addition of 132 aircraft, increasing the size of the fleet from today’s 684 to 816, added CAPA at its recent summit in New Delhi.
With few widebodies, Indian carriers suffer a disadvantage compared with better-equipped international carriers. Air India’s large widebody order seeks to address the deficiency as Indian cities vie to challenge Gulf carriers for connecting passengers through Dubai, for example. Indian authorities recently declined a request by Dubai to increase traffic rights to and from India by 50,000 seats a week, nearly doubling the present 66,000 seats per week.
“It is clear the Indian government wants to build mega airlines in size, scale, and quality, and in line with this objective, a temporary freeze on market access is evident,” said CAPA India CEO Kapil Kaul.
Wilson told AIN that the large traveling population of India and a 37 million-strong diaspora could fly internationally from multiple hubs in India. “Why inconvenience yourself with a long layover?” he asked rhetorically.
Restructuring has already begun, and Air India has increased frequencies to London Heathrow from Delhi and Mumbai from 44 to 49 a week to stimulate business traffic and draw more transit passengers. It also has begun connecting secondary cities to London Gatwick, where Wilson said Air India will continue to add frequencies.
On March 25, Air India’s first Airbus A321neo narrowbody entered its fleet as part of an order for 70 of the type. The order also includes 140 A320neos, 34 A350-1000, and six A350-900s. Wilson said part of the fleet would arrive in an all-economy configuration but he did not elaborate. The A321neo seats 180 to 220 passengers in a typical two-class layout, and as many as 244 in a higher-density arrangement, according to Airbus.
Challenges remain along the way, including supply-chain constraints, as Wilson and his team work overtime to get all aircraft operational and into a recovery mode. For example, the airline needs to recruit talent to update IT and reservations systems and add flight crew—things it largely neglected for the past 15 years. “I need people for such planning and capability building,” said Wilson. “In that sense, we are a start-up.”