Air India aims for 30% market share of domestic air travel market in the next 5 years

Air India’s chief executive officer Campbell Wilson stated on Thursday that the airline plans to take 30% of India’s domestic aviation market in the next five years, which is a blatant indication of the Tata Group consolidating its airline business. To enhance its share of foreign traffic, it also intends to create additional hubs across cities and double the number of its fleet.

The plans are a part of the group’s transformation plan, “Vihaan,” which aims to make Air India a profitable airline in five years. Following a meeting with the airline’s senior management in Delhi on Wednesday, the plan was finalized by Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran.

The salt-to-steel conglomerate presently operates three airline brands – Air India, Vistara, and AirAsia India – with an 83% stake, along with Air India Express, making it one of the largest airlines in the international market. As of July, IndiGo has a 59% market share, making it the biggest domestic carrier.

While the merger of AirAsia India and Air India Express received regulatory permission, the consolidation plan with Vistara has not yet been finalized. News reports, however, claim that Tata Sons has made it clear to Singapore Airlines–which owns 49% of Vistara–that integration is required in order to create synergy.

A mix of wide-body and narrow-body aircraft totalling about 200 are now being negotiated as part of Air India’s growth plans. The airline is leasing 25 narrow-body Airbus A320 family aircraft and five Boeing 777 aircraft to expand its footprint on India-US routes in the immediate term.

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