Air India plans to triple its fleet of 113 jets in five years

Air India Ltd. is planning to triple its fleet of 113 aircraft over five years as the money-losing carrier prepares to transform the business following its takeover by India’s largest conglomerate, the Tata Group.

“The airline is in discussions with aircraft and engine manufacturers on procuring new aircraft,” Air India Chief Executive Campbell Wilson said in New Delhi Tuesday. “I wouldn’t put a number on it because negotiations are still ongoing. We also have a view on the proportion of wide and narrowbody and the increase is going to be a significant number of both.”

Boeing Co. is offering 737 Max jets once meant for Chinese customers to Air India as the planemaker tries to offload some of the roughly 140 aircraft it’s currently not allowed to deliver to the country, Bloomberg News reported today. Air India is considering ordering as many as 300 narrowbody aircraft to revamp its fleet, according to a June Bloomberg report. The airline is planning to induct 25 Airbus SE and five Boeing aircraft from lessors starting December, it said last month.

Air India expects to increase its domestic and international market share to 30% in five years, said Wilson, who was previously with Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s budget unit. The first phase of the transformation will address issues such as on-time performance, food and refunds that are “tarnishing” Air India’s brand, he said. In the second phase, Air India will accelerate investment in people, systems and equipment. It will aspire to become a “world-class” airline toward the end of the five-year overhaul plan, Wilson said.

The airline has restored 17 grounded aircraft and 12 are yet to return to service. It is in discussions with suppliers to refurbish existing widebody aircraft, which will require significant engineering work, he said.