Air India's transformation is like 'morning of 5th day of cricket Test match': CEO

New Delhi: Air India's transformation is now like being on the morning of the fifth day of a cricket Test match as the heavy lifting has been done, the airline's chief Campbell Wilson has said.

The loss-making Air India, which was privatised in January 2022, has been facing various headwinds and when asked about profitability, the CEO and MD said "some unexpected events" have impacted the airline's performance.

Air India is in the process of revamping its fleet, which currently stands around 190 planes. In January, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 aircraft after privatisation.

To a PTI query on the transformation journey, Wilson, who is from New Zealand, said, "Clearly, I think we are may be (in) the morning of the fifth day (of cricket Test match)".

A Test match is played over five days.

"There is a lot of aircraft that need to go through the refit process. But that's now a mechanical process. We just need the seats to be manufactured, delivered, installed.

"All of the design, all of the certification, all of that is done. And so, whilst it will take some time, the heavy lifting is finished," he said.

Wilson made the comments during a media interaction after the opening of its new lounge at the Delhi airport on Thursday.

"The upliftment from where we were to where we are today has happened. And so it is iteration rather than revolution... so, the reinforcement cycle is now a positive one.

"And so I think that's why I think we're nearing the end of that process because most of the upliftment is done. It's just the refinement and the completion of the rollout that is still a work in progress," he said.

The loss-making airline has faced multiple headwinds, including the fatal crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that killed 260 people in June last year. Also, the closure of Pakistan airspace has significantly impacted the financials of the carrier.

Back in November 2024, Wilson had described the airline's transformation journey as a cricket Test match.

"It is a Test match and not a T20, we are at about lunch on Day 3," Wilson had said when the ambitious five-year transformation plan 'Vihaan.AI' completed little over two years.

Elaborating on 'Vihaan.AI', Wilson said it has 22 different work streams across many different fleets, and most of them are either complete or nearly complete.

"The mechanical part of rolling out across the full fleet or the full global network still takes some time. So this year, we will see 20 aircraft either delivered with new product or refitted with new product...

"I think we can say that what we aspired to do in the Vihaan programme is now becoming more and more visible. And the completion of that project unfortunately won't be until the last aircraft is fitted. But the substantive part of planning for it, designing it, certifying it and then starting the installation is pretty much done," he said.

While announcing the Vihaan.AI plan in September 2022, Air India said it was a roadmap with clear milestones.

Asked about profitability, Wilson on Thursday did not provide a direct reply but said there have been some unexpected events, including the India-Pakistan conflict, political change in countries, tariffs, and US visa constraints.

"Airspace closure, not just in our immediate neighbourhood but further afield... All of these things have impact on performance of an airline. And unfortunately there's been quite a few (things) happening in quick succession that have particularly impacted Air India. Again, that's life, we just have to deal with it and move forward," he said.

Last month, sources told PTI that Air India was working on a revised plan for achieving profitability, which is likely to be at least three to four years away, as the airline was grappling with multiple headwinds.