Tata group committed to making Air India world class: N Chandrasekaran

Chandrasekaran said the TATA group will focus on customer service, upgrade fleet, invest in new aircraft and expand the network to achieve its goals towards making Air India successful.

Tata group Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Wednesday shared the group’s vision to make Air India a world class airline and sought employee participation in this endeavour.

“We are committed to making Air India a world class airline. I am confident that working together we can achieve that goal much faster," Chandrasekaran said in his maiden address to Air India employees.

The salt-to-steel conglomerate completed the takeover of Air India last month. On Tuesday it announced the appointment of Turkish Airlines's former chairman Ilker Ayci as CEO of Air India.

Chandrasekaran said the group will focus on customer service, upgrade the fleet, invest in new aircraft and expand the network to achieve its goals. “We want Air India to be best in class in customer service. We want Air India to be the most technologically advanced airline in the world,” he stated.

At present Air India and Air India Express have a fleet of 141 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Under the previous management the airline has been unable to spruce up the fleet or invest in technologies due to a cash crunch.

Chandrasekaran said Tata brand is known for trust, quality and consistency. He added Air India must win over customer trust by ensuring that its flights are “on time every time” and by offering superior customer service from booking to boarding.

"At the Tata group we are fortunate to have several iconic brands like Taj Hotels, Tanishq, Tata Salt and JLR. With many consumer facing companies we are fortunate to touch the lives of 60 crore Indians. With Air India joining we have the opportunity to become a brand that represents aspirations of 130 crore Indians,” he said.