Air India's load factor improves to 80% under Tata group management

Air India is seeing results from management and leadership changes.

The photograph was taken by Vivek Prakash.

According to data from theDGCA, there has been a marked improvement in key operational parameters of Air India after the group took complete control.

One of the most dramatic improvements has been noticed in Air India's passenger load factor, a crucial metric of capacity utilization of an airline's fleet that shows how many seats it has been able to fill.

Air India's domestic services have a load factor of 80 per cent.

When it was under government control, its domestic PLF was 60 percent.

It had a PLF of more than 70 per cent in the entire year.

This is a return to the levels of the previous year.

It still has a long way to go to catch up with its competitors who use their capacity better.

In its international operations, there is a similar turn around in efficiency.

The PLF increased to 80 per cent after the takeover of the company.

Air India hasn't been able to increase their market share.

Its domestic market share was 7.5 per cent in June, compared to 10 per cent in January.

Vistara has eaten into Air India's share while IndiGo has retained its share.

The market share of Vistara increased in June from January.

The market share of the three airlines owned by the group increased.

Air India has a bigger domestic market share.

Air India, which had the highest number of passenger complaints, has been able to resolve many of them.

In June, it halved its complaints to two per 10,000 passengers.

Within a couple of months of taking over the national airline, the group made management changes led by the appointment of a vice president of the group.

Several senior management personnel from the two companies were brought into key roles.

Some of the hands were appointed by the government.

Captain Sandhu is the airline's Chief of Operations.

Campbell Wilson, former CEO of Singapore International Airlines (SIA) low-cost carrier, was onboarded as Air India's chief executive officer after the necessary clearances were given by the Union home ministry.