'Punching below its weight': Air India CEO Tewolde Gebremariam vows to turn around airline profitability

Air India plans to increase its wide-body aircraft order as it looks to strengthen its international operations and improve its financial performance, CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said on Tuesday while acknowledging that the carrier was currently “punching below its weight” in the international marke. He also expressed confidence in a turnaround, saying the airline's return to profitability would happen “very soon”."Air India has been punching below its weight, that will change," said CEO Tewolde Gebremariam.“I am more impatient than shareholders to see Air India turn profitable,” Gebremariam added that the airline had made significant progress in areas such as fleet renewal. However, losses, airspace disruptions and rising costs remain key concerns. “Cost per available seat kilometre is a major concern for us,” he said. He also said Air India would look at rebalancing its hubs and network amid the challenges. On India's aviation potential, he said the country could become a global hub if it did “the right thing at the right time”.Meanwhile, last month, Gebremariam set up a “multidisciplinary, cross-functional cost savings team” on a full-time basis to identify ways to reduce expenditure across the airline. Air India reported a loss of around $2.3 billion in 2025-26, its biggest annual loss since the Tata Group acquired the airline in January 2022. Its cumulative losses since the takeover have reached about $5.7 billion.In an internal communication to employees, the CEO called for a mindset of “frugality, accountability, and thoughtful decision-making”, saying expenditure would be systematically reviewed across functions. He said that while many external factors remained beyond the airline's control, employees could influence how costs were managed through everyday decisions.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.