I toured Air India’s new Airbus A350 — which it hopes will compete with elite competitors like Emirates and Qatar. See inside.

Air India started as Tata Air Mail in 1928 before officially being established as India’s first commercial airline in 1932.

Air India is notorious for its sometimes crummy product and unreliability, but the Tata takeover signals what it hopes is a new direction for the carrier.

Singapore Airlines — today considered one of the best airlines in the world — actually used Air India as inspiration for its business model.

Air India faced years of financial struggles, taking losses year after year despite joining international partnerships like the Star Alliance.

Customers commonly complain of broken seats, long delays, and unclean cabins, according to TripAdvisor reviews.

This caused some customers to turn to competing carriers like American Airlines or United Airlines when flying from the US to India.

The review from Samantha Rosen was in 2020, before the Tata takeover.

Rosen’s story came three years after another TPG reporter, Zach Honig, published a story titled “20 Things I Hated About My Air India Business-Class Flight to NYC.”

“If you don’t have newer airplanes or airplanes that are reliable, no matter what you do, you are going to have a problem,” an unnamed aviation industry executive told Reuters in October 2021, shortly after Tata won the bid for Air India.

The New York Times has reported a similar state of affairs, noting poor customer service and delayed flights.

On-time performance is a focal point for new management, and Air India has had some good months since privatization — like in October 2022, when it had a 90% on-time rate, Simple Flying reported.

Still, the carrier has had its bad months. For example, in November 2023, its on-time performance dropped to 62.5%, according to the Times of India.

Asian and Gulf competitors, including Singapore, Qatar, Etihad, and Emirates, are considered today’s top-tier for service and comfort, thanks to the upgrades they’ve made to their products over the years.

This includes Qatar’s Q-Suite business class, for example, and Emirates’ new Airbus A380 premium economy.

“We acknowledge we’ve got a way to go, but despite the shortcomings we have, we want to at least be as good as we can and make updates in key areas,” Wilson said.

These include $400 million in cabin refurbishments that Air India hopes will bring renewed comfort to its long-haul fleet.

“By the end of 2025, the entire legacy widebody fleet will also be upgraded to match what we’re getting on the A350,” Wilson said, “So, essentially, our fleet will be completely reborn by then.”

International routes for the A350 have yet to be announced. For now, the carrier is flying the plane domestically, and its maiden flight was on Monday from Bengaluru to Mumbai.

“At the moment, the A350s are operating flights that wouldn’t otherwise exist because they are largely scheduled to accommodate the pilot familiarization process,” Wilson told BI, noting the A350s tend to be kept out of places with fog, like Delhi.

Boeing also showed off its 777X test jet at the airshow, which is the planemaker’s newest jet built to compete with the A350.

Air India expects to take delivery of one new plane every six days throughout 2024, according to the company.

Similar to Emirates, premium economy is a new addition for Air India.

When sanctions tanked Russia’s ability to get new planes, Airbus had to reallocate the A350 orders that Aeroflot originally placed.

Hues of purple — an ode to its merger with Vistara — are spread throughout the cabin.

I think the cabin is representative of the “elite” carrier that Air India aims to one day be.

“Fundamentally, what makes a great airline a great airline is its consistency,” Wilson told BI. “Then it’s the other factors — is it a world-class seat, entertainment, catering, and service? Is the service refined, genuine, and warm? All those things.”

The amenity kit has items like an eyemask, lotion, and toothpaste, and there is no shortage of power as the seat features a USB and universal outlet.

The same inflight entertainment will be installed on Air India’s legacy widebody planes that are undergoing the $400 million retrofit, as well as newly acquired Boeing 777-200LRs and all future widebody planes, according to the airline.

The company acquired the leased 777 jets from airlines like Etihad and Delta to help expand quickly.

The old cabin is in a 2×3×2 layout, meaning even in business class, customers could find themselves in the dreaded middle seat.

The old business class seat had barely any storage, so the closet is a key upgrade.

The soft products include things like plates, utensils, the amenity kit, linens, food, and service — so anything not physically attached to the aircraft. The hard product would be the seat itself.

When pieced together, the plate resembled the new “Vista” logo that looks like a gold window frame. Meanwhile, the two-in-one pillow can be changed into a mattress pad.

Premium economy is becoming popular among international airlines as a middle ground between coach and business class.

The legroom in premium economy is 38 inches, and the seat width is 18.5 inches, according to Air India. Customers will also enjoy nice linens and headphones.

Premium economy customers can kick their legs up and relax thanks to the legrest.

The A350 can accommodate 10 abreast seats, but Air India wanted to offer more space to customers and decided to install rows of nine instead.

Customers will find a headrest, seatback pocket, seatback screen, power ports, a blanket and pillow, and a good recline.

I like a cupholder because it means I don’t have to have the tray table out anytime I get a drink. A similar one is featured in Singapore’s A380 economy cabin.

After flying on Air India’s legacy 777 in both economy and business, the A350 is a night-and-day difference.

Singapore’s A350 business class lacks a sliding door, which I think was a missed opportunity for the airline.

When I flew Air India’s legacy economy last week, my entire seat was broken — including the inflight entertainment, so it was a rough journey.

“The list of things to do at Air India, and the list of opportunities ahead of us, are astonishing,” CEO Wilson told BI. “And, in most of these cases, it is not a matter of ‘Is there a case to do it?’ but ‘What do we do first?'”