Air India learnt lessons, could have reacted better: CEO on urine incident

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson on Monday said that the flag carrier has learnt lessons and it could have reacted better to the issues surrounding the urination incident that took place on board a New York-Delhi flight in November last year.

While addressing a virtual conference, the CEO said that the airline has realised the importance of reporting incidents.

Saying that Air India is now investing more in technology, Wilson told the media that there were many instances where the airline's crew is at the receiving end when a drunk passenger misbehaves.

"I think, New India is something that the new Air India needs to be a representative of," he said while talking about the carrier's improvement with regard to service, reputation, footprint and attractiveness.

Wilson said that Air India has enormous potential and efforts are on to make the group a significant international player, adding that the Tata group-owned airline's order for a record 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing will be nearly worth $70Abillion.

The CEO also said that the process of integration of Vistara with Air India is also underway and is now awaiting approval from regulatory bodies.

Wilson further informed that the airline plans to fund the order with a combination of many resources, including internal cash flow, shareholder equity and sale-and-leaseback of aircraft.

Air India has planned to hire over 4,200 cabin crew trainees and 900 pilots in 2023 as the airline adds new aircraft and rapidly expands its domestic and international operations.

Earlier this month, Air India announced a mega order to purchase 470 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus to support its growth plans.

It has already announced plans to lease 36 aircraft of which two B 777-200 LR have already joined the fleet.

--IANS

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