Air India CEO designate sets out safety, reliability and profitability as top priorities for airline

NEW DELHI: “Safety, reliability, profitability and pursuing disciplined and sustainable growth.” Air India’s CEO and MD (proposed) Tewolde Gebremariam on Monday set these priorities out for the struggling airline group in his first Town Hall with employees. Apart from widening losses, AI’s safety practices and alleged lack of discipline among crew are under the scanner since last June’s Ahmedabad crash and then the recent case of a badly rattled Phuket-Delhi flight whose pilot-in-command was subsequently sacked for failing dope test on arrival. AI’s unique internal challenges compound for it the anyway tough external environment — airspace closures (particularly Pakistan), rising crude prices, rupee’s weakness and global uncertainty — which are common to all Indian carriers. Foreign airlines can overfly Pakistan.Tewolde, who is awaiting regulatory clearance from India to take over the role, said India's favourable demographics, strong economic growth, geographic position and large global diaspora provide a “unique foundation” for AI’s future success. “These factors give us confidence that if we execute well and remain focused on our customers, AI can become not only one of the largest airlines in the world, but among the very best,” the former top boss of Ethiopian Airlines, who successfully turned around that carrier, said.Simultaneously he pointed out the challenging environment. He thanked the over 24,000 employees for the change the airline has seen since being taken over by Tata Group in Jan 2022. "Over the past four years, a great deal has been achieved. At the same time, there remains significant opportunity ahead of us. That is what makes this an exciting moment for AI and for all of us,” he said.Addressing basic issues without getting distracted by promises of a flashy makeover, Gebremariam set the priorities for the airline which is trying to regain flyers’ faith.Safety: That “would remain the airline's foremost priority and guiding principle…. every Air Indian has a role to play… people (be) empowered to speak up, raise concerns and report issues without hesitation. If you see something, say something. The stronger our reporting culture, the stronger our safety culture,” he said.Reliability key to winning customer trust:“Our customers should remember AI for its reliability. They should be confident that flights will depart and arrive on time, baggage will travel with them and that when disruptions occur, we should communicate transparently and recover quickly,” he saidImproving financial performance:While acknowledging external factors have affected the airline's path to breakeven, he stressed AI cannot afford to lose focus on financial performance. "We must improve both revenue and cost performance… Every employee can contribute to savings, and those savings add up across an organisation of our scale."Pursuing disciplined and sustainable growth”"Growth is the oxygen of business. But growth must also be profitable and sustainable. We will pursue expansion in a disciplined manner and ensure our people, fleet and network are ready to support it,” he said as AI “continues to evaluate opportunities to enhance network efficiency, optimise fleet deployment and rebalance operations to improve long-term competitiveness.”One Air IndiaTewolde said we are already one Air India Group and we will streamline and synergise wherever possible while retaining focus on customers. “Air India has an extraordinary opportunity before it. If we remain focused on safety, reliability, financial discipline, teamwork and customer service, there is no reason why we cannot build one of the world's leading airlines."You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.