When Tata Group took back Air India from the government in January 2022, the transaction wasn't merely a change in ownership. It was seen as the return of a once-iconic airline to the conglomerate that had founded and nurtured it. And with that came hopes that India would finally get a strong full-service carrier capable of challenging IndiGo's growing dominance.
Four and a half years later, that promise remains elusive. Air India has modernised parts of its fleet, merged airlines, invested heavily in technology and ordered hundreds of aircraft. But it is also reporting record losses and ceding market share. Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran has cautioned shareholders that turnaround of Air India will take up to a decade, as mounting financial losses and persistent supply-chain bottlenecks complicate the conglomerate’s high-profile aviation bet.
