Air India looking to enhance collaborations with airports

There is also an option to purchase additional 370 aircraft from the two plane makers.Besides, the merger of AirAsia India, rebranded as AIX Connect, with Air India Express as well as the merger of Vistara with Air India have been initiated.

Air India is looking to enhance collaborations with airports in India and overseas as the Tata Group-owned carrier works on upgrading its systems.

The airline has put in place a roadmap under Vihaan.AI for transformation over a five-year period.

Rajesh Dogra, Chief Customer Experience Officer & Global Operations - Airport Operations, on Wednesday, said Air India was not using the best technologies available for aviation in the market.

''We are trying to bring in new technologies, set up new systems and working very closely with airports across the world. I have been meeting airport operators in India, JFK (New York), SFO (San Francisco), and LHR (the UK), seeking their assistance and help to collaborate because there are a lot of options for potential collaborations, which we did not use to the maximum extent,'' he said.

Speaking at the CAPA India aviation summit here, Dogra also emphasised that airlines and airports cannot work in silos.

According to him, data sharing among various stakeholders, including airports, airlines and Online Travel Agents (OTAs), is important.

''Data sharing is very important...DigiYatra, which I think is just an excellent example of how data sharing can be done...airports, airlines, OTAs, all stakeholders in the industry must actually collaborate and share data with each other,'' he noted.

Tata Group took control of loss-making Air India along with Air India Express and a 50 per cent stake in AIATSL in January 2022.

Last month, the airline announced placing orders for 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, including 70 wide-body planes. Out of the total, 250 will be from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. There is also an option to purchase additional 370 aircraft from the two plane makers.

Besides, the merger of AirAsia India, rebranded as AIX Connect, with Air India Express as well as the merger of Vistara with Air India have been initiated.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)