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Journalism of Courage
With the spotlight on Air India in the aftermath of the tragic crash of flight AI 171 on June 12, the Air India group has been “more transparent than usual” when it comes to reporting incidents and events with aircraft, no matter how small, which has resulted in a perception of increased incidents, Air India’s Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said in a message to employees. Wilson, however, added that for an airline group as large as Air India, the incidence rate is “entirely normal”. The Air India group includes full-service airline Air India and its no-frills carrier arm Air India Express.
“When the spotlight is on us, it’s crucial to offer timely, clear and accurate information and the right context. So over recent weeks we have been even more transparent than usual in reporting incidents and events, however small. This transparency will, over time, help build trust. In the short term though, it naturally results in an uptick of news coverage, and with more than 1,200 departures every single day—nearly one every minute—across the Air India Group, it can seem like a lot. In context of our scale and size, however, the incidence rate is entirely normal,” Wilson said.
Wilson also told staff that the brand values that matter most to the Tata group airline include “staying grounded, focused, and acting with authenticity and integrity, “whether or not someone is watching”.
Wilson’s comments come close on the heels of a few highly publicised aircraft snags over the past few weeks, which drew significant attention in sections of the media and the public. In recent months, Air India has also been subject to regulatory actions by aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a number of which were a result of voluntary disclosures by the airline.
Following the AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed 260 lives, Air India has been more cautious than usual on issues pertaining to flight safety. Apart from being proactive in voluntary disclosures related to snags with aircraft and on operational issues that could impact flight safety, the carrier has also adopted a “safety pause”, which involves additional voluntary pre-flight technical checks on aircraft and adopting a cautious approach in flight operations.
This approach has also led to some disruption in Air India’s operations and even a temporary curtailment of its wide-body aircraft operations. On the road to recovery after the Ahmedabad crash, Wilson told employees that the airline’s performance on various metrics has improved notably in recent months.
“You will also have noticed that we are gradually reintroducing familiar elements of the Air India experience—such as our in-flight magazine, speciality menus and an active presence on social media…thanks to the collective efforts across the organization, our performance continues to improve,” Wilson said, adding that the airline’s on-time performance in August crossed 80 per cent, which was significantly higher than the 2024 average for Air India and Vistara, which merged into Air India in November.
“Our NPS (net promoter score) for August reached an historic high of 36, continuing the strong momentum from July. And other performance metrics have also hit new ‘bests’, including the incidence of mishandled baggage, and the speed with which such bags are reunited with passengers,” Wilson said.
The Air India CEO added that the airline’s front-line teams are now empowered with the ability to offer e-vouchers to customers in cases of a service shortfall, and this capability will be extended to cabin crew, which will enable them to provide on-the-spot resolution to service issues on board.
“These measures, along with the improved metrics, reflect the organizational culture we are building and the brand values that matter most: staying grounded, staying focused, and acting with authenticity and integrity, whether or not someone is watching,” Wilson said.
