When Air India returned home after a long wait of years, the entire country felt that the days of this ‘Maharaja’ of the skies would change again. This was not just a business acquisition, but a passionate dream of Ratan Tata which he fulfilled by making the highest bid of Rs 18,000 crore. But the figures that are coming out now are very shocking for the aviation sector. The airline from which great miracles were expected after being taken over by the Tata Group, is currently going through its deepest and challenging crisis.
Air India is becoming a mountain of losses
History is witness to the fact that JRD Tata, who was an amateur pilot at the age of just 15, laid the foundation of this airline in 1932 from Juhu, Mumbai. This company, which made its first commercial flight on 15 October in a single engine plane from Karachi to Mumbai via Ahmedabad, was taken over by the government in 1953. After years, Tata took it back, but now this deal seems to be turning into a mountain of losses.
Internal estimates suggest that the total loss of Tata Sons’ new business could reach Rs 29,000 crore in FY 2026 (which was earlier estimated at Rs 5,700 crore). The biggest burden in this is on Air India alone. While earlier the loss for the airline was estimated to be only Rs 2,000 crore, now this figure is expected to increase tenfold to Rs 20,000 crore. The deficit for financial year 2025 was Rs 11,000 crore and in the first nine months of the current year itself, a huge loss of Rs 15,000 crore has been recorded.
Captainless ship in ‘Perfect Storm’
Amidst this financial earthquake, the airline has also suffered a major setback on the leadership front. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson suddenly resigned from his post on 7 April. Wilson, who took charge in 2022, had a contract till July 2027, but his premature departure has raised many questions.
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According to experts, the airline is currently caught in a “perfect storm” i.e. all-round troubles. Last year, the horrific Boeing plane crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat (in which 260 people lost their lives), Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian aircraft and crude oil prices crossing 100 dollars have broken the back of the company. In the last three years alone, Air India has suffered a loss of about Rs 32,000 crore.
17 thousand new recruitments, still why did the alarm sound?
It is not that Tata did not make efforts to rescue the company. In the last four years, huge changes (overhauling) have been made within the company. Four separate airlines were merged into two companies, a huge army of 17,000 new employees was created, old systems were replaced and shiny new aircraft were added to the fleet. Despite this, the current situation is so serious that Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran himself had to take charge.
Chairman bluntly, ‘Avoid unnecessary talk, stay on the ground’
Amidst increasing pressure, Chairman N. Chandrasekaran has given a direct message to the employees through a townhall meeting at Gurugram headquarters. Expressing the reality in very clear words, he said that even though the future is bright, the present is very challenging. He has given strict instructions to the team that at present the most important need is to control the expenses and proper execution of the work. The Chairman appealed to the employees to improve the services by understanding the ground reality. However, he also assured that the Tata Group stands strongly with the Board and Management of Air India in every difficult time.
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