TATAs need more planes for Air India

The Tata Group acquired Air India back from the government with a winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore

The Ministry of Civil Aviation’s monthly summary for March has some interesting insights. It stated that five A321s have been handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Already, one A319 was handed over.

The same report also puts to rest the ownership of the Queens -- the B747s. Originally destined for Alliance Air, it now seems clear they have continued with Air India. The report lists Alliance Air fleet at 18 aircraft at the end of March. The airline inducted its first Do-228 in April.

A quick search on flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows that these five air frames are VT-PPA, VT-PPB, VT-PPD, VT-PPE and VT-PPF. All of these were delivered in 2007 and are over 14 years old. At least four more A321s are not operational. This is in addition to the A319 which was already transferred.

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The A319s aren’t fully operational either. Of the 21 A319s in operation, 13 haven't flown for a very long time, data on FlightRadar24 says. These are the issues which the TATA group have inherited. As far as improving on-time performance, in-flight service and overall experience on the ground and in sky are concerned, the highest importance will have to be accorded to the depleting fleet!

PIM and the changing fleet

When the PIM (Preliminary Information Memorandum) was released in January 2020, it had listed 6 A321s and 7 A319s as being grounded. The update to the PIM never mentioned moving the A321s to the IAF and the DRDO. However, this definitely would have surfaced during the due diligence and the subsequent agreement with the two parties.

It will never be known if the TATA group had a choice to let go of these A321s, but, as a matter of fact, the airline is without these aircraft and another handful of groundings. We are yet to recover from the pandemic-led slump, and while the last few days have seen higher traffic, it has never crossed the average pre-pandemic levels in either passenger numbers or flights deployed.

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For a brief period, Air India had gained back the number two slot in Indian skies by market share. However, the number two slot will be closely fought between SpiceJet, Air India and Go First, and it will largely be driven by just one thing: capacity in the market. With both SpiceJet and Go First operating fewer aircraft than what they have in the fleet, they have the ability to scale up quickly. Though Air India has a number of aircraft, the grounding won’t allow the airline to scale up as well.

What next?

It is a given that the TATA group will have to pump in a lot of money for fleet improvement. But the A319s and A321s are old. Will the group retire them and look for a simplified fleet of all A320neos eventually? Will the group invest in just two types -- the A220s and the A320s or the A321s?

Air India is in a unique position to operate the A320s while subsidiary Air India Express operates the B737. Will the airline look for a common fleet in the longer term? The TATA group is in a unique position. It has a joint venture with both Airbus and Boeing for different programmes.

Tail note

The summer schedule started in the last week of March. While Air India was owned by TATA in March, the planning would have been done while the airline was still a government entity. No wonder that the flights and station count for the airline is more or less the same as the previous season.

The Airbus A320neo family does not have delivery slots available, so is the case with the A220 family. Boeing does have slots for the 737 MAX, though it has dropped the MAX from all branding. Lessors, on the other hand, have a fair bit of inventory available, which could be the way out for Air India.

With oil prices high, the new generation fleet is the way forward and if the airline has been compensated handsomely by the government, the new owners would be happy to see the A321s go away from the fleet.