Oh, Air India, how I adored thee. In the 1990s, the Indian national carrier was a favourite. I flew on its big, comfortable jumbo jets many times. Either I was flying to and from India, which was always a thrill, or I was taking advantage of the “fifth freedom” routes from London Heathrow to New York JFK and Toronto.
Yes, for many years Air India was the carrier of choice across the Atlantic: it had the right to pick up passengers in London and take them, economically, to the main gateways for the US and Canada respectively. The experience was always good value and exotic: for seven hours, you were transported to South Asia, with delicious food, friendly cabin crew and interesting fellow travellers.
Yet ahead of a meeting with Campbell Wilson, chief executive officer and managing director of Air India, I checked my travel records and discovered I had not flown with his airline this century. I have been to India on multiple occasions in the past two decades, but on airlines such as Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways and even Cathay Pacific (for a time there was a handy Dubai-Mumbai link on the Hong Kong-based airline).
Golden years: Air India was one of the leading 20th-century airlines
(Air India)
India-UK-North America routes shrank and then disappeared completely; Air India planes now fly over the UK rather than pausing to pick up thrifty travellers.
So, I wondered: what can the new boss offer to tempt me back on board?
“We want to go nonstop from India to all of the key markets in the world with new product, with more reliability, with brand-new aircraft.
“If we’re providing reliability, good value, good service, good brand, good prices, nonstop service, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t choose us.”
Air India began life in 1932 as Tata Air Services, but spent decades as a bloated, loss-making nationalised carrier – protected against foreign competion by restrictions that suppressed international capacity. It finally returned to the mother ship, Tata Group.
“The staff breathed a huge sigh of relief when Tata was announced as the successful bidder,” says Mr Wilson. “Because they knew, right now, it’s going to be done properly.”
Right now Air India is in an expansive mood, with 470 new planes on order from Airbus and Boeing almost quadrupling its fleet – thanks to what Mr Wilson calls “patient and visionary capital”…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Independent Travel…