New Delhi: Air India is better positioned as a full-service airline with "superior product" than its competitors and will strive to position itself slightly above low-cost carriers, according to its CMD Rajiv Bansal.
As the loss-making national carrier works on ways to improve its on-time performance and increase the market share, Bansal said it plans to invest in technological upgradation in the fare management system.
The upgradation would be done at Air India as well as its low-cost international arm, Air India Express.
In a recent interview to PTI, Bansal, who took over the reins of the disinvestment-bound Air India last month, said the airline is better positioned as a full-service carrier.
"I think our product is superior in many aspects to what my competitors offer and we are positioned better in terms of full-service carrier," the chairman and managing director said.
"We are kind of competing with low-cost carriers (LCCs) also. So, we are catering to a segment which definitely looks at Air India fares and if it is too high, then tends to look at some other fares. For marginal difference, many tend to prefer Air India. That is the segment that I am targeting," he said.
Noting that every customer is price sensitive, Bansal said those who value more leg space and availability of food are willing to give that delta above what is being offered by the LCCs. "That is the customer I am targeting," he added.
Indian skies are dominated by LCCs and leading player IndiGo's market share stood at 38.7 per cent at the end of July, according to official data.
During the same period, Air India's domestic market share was at 13.5 per cent.
To a query on whether Air India would be repositioning itself to wean away customers from the low cost carriers, Bansal said there is nothing like weaning away even as he added that all airlines are trying to get the same customer.
"There are competitors and we are also in the market...
everybody is trying to get the same customer. I am trying to position myself slightly above the LCCs, but yet not go too high that people get turned off," he said.
In recent months, Air India has come out with advertisements showcasing additional facilities it offers to customers compared to other carriers. Among others, the airline allows up to 25 kilogram checked-in baggage free of cost in domestic flights.
To revive the national carrier, the government has decided to go for strategic disinvestment of the carrier and its five subsidiaries. A group of ministers is working on the modalities for strategic disinvestment of Air India, which has been in the red for long.
For the first time in more than a decade, Air India turned operationally profitable in 2015-16.
AI defers delivery of A320 neo plane on CFM engine issues
New Delhi: National carrier Air India has deferred the delivery of at least one A320 neo aircraft due to issues with CFM-manufactured engine, sources said.
The development also comes at a time when no-frills carriers -- IndiGo and GoAir -- have grounded at least 11 A320 neo aircraft due to problems in their Pratt and Whitney engines.
Airbus 320 neo -- the new engine option -- are more fuel efficient and Indian carriers have placed orders for more than 500 such planes.
The A320 neo planes of Air India and Vistara are powered by CFM-made engines while those of IndiGo and GoAir run on P&W engines.
The sources said that Air India has deferred the delivery of at least one A320 neo plane due to problems with CFM engine -- probably the first instance of these planes facing woes on account of CFM engine.
Specific details could not be immediately ascertained.
Queries sent to Air India spokesperson on Thursday remained unanswered.
When contacted for comments about Air India deferring the delivery of aircraft on account of CFM engine issues, a spokesperson for Safran Aircraft Engines in an e-mailed statement said, "I regret to inform you that CFM does not want to comment."
CFM is an equal joint venture between US-based GE and France's Safran Aircraft Engines. It manufactures LEAP and CFM56 engines for commercial planes.
"We are working closely together with the engine makers and our customers on next deliveries, which are agreed with the customer," an Airbus spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.
The aircraft for Air India are powered by LEAP-1A engine manufactured by CFM.
Currently, the airline has eight A320 neo planes in its fleet.
The national carrier took delivery of the first LEAP-1A- powered A320 neo aircraft earlier this year. Air India has plans to lease a total of 27 A320 aircraft, including neos.
Air India has a fleet of 112 planes.
Recently, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said technical snags faced by A320 neo aircraft operated by IndiGo and GoAir pose a "safety issue".
"Obviously, any failure is a safety issue. So, the operating procedure we changed... What is attractive is fuel efficiency. Fuel efficiency is one thing and risking life is another," the minister had said in an interview.
His comments had come in response to a query on whether the P&W engine issues were a safety concern.
The aviation regulator DGCA has asked the American engine maker to expedite the supply of spare engines to India.
On whether there could be harsher action with respect to the engine issues, Raju had said some of the planes have been grounded because of regulations, implying that existing norms are strict.
"Why are they grounded, that is because of the regulations. You don't want to take risks with life...
Everybody is working on it (addressing the engine issues). As long as glitches don't massacre human beings, it is okay. They will be addressed and sorted out," he had said.