Air India CEO on Impact of Bilateral Rights on Indian Carriers’ Ability to Fill Seats
Photo Credit: Last year, the airline placed an order for 470 new aircraft with Boeing and Airbus. (Image: Air India CEO Campbell Wilson at Skift India Summit 2024) Skift
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Air India has been upgrading its fleet and investing heavily in new planes. An increase in grants under bilateral agreements to Middle East carriers threatens Indian carriers' share in carrying passengers to long-haul destinations, leading to a lower return on investment.
Indian full-service carrier Air India has said its plans to invest in new aircraft will depend on the government's policy on bilateral agreements and the seat capacity being granted, CEO Campbell Wilson said this week at an aviation event in India.
Last year, the airline placed an order for 470 new aircraft with Boeing and Airbus. It is also upgrading its fleet, set to retrofit more than 100 planes, of which 40 are wide-body aircraft. It has also ordered around 25,000 seats as part of its fleet revamp, investing $400 million in this upgrade.
Wilson was quoted as saying, “Indian carriers recently ordered more than 1,000 aircraft. We are committing to that on the basis that the
