- Incoming chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam wants cost discipline across the airline, with employee rewards for verified savings and efficiency gains.
- Air India will target more revenue from international flights, commercial activities and cargo while prioritizing safety and reliable operations.
- The airline reported a loss of twenty-two thousand, two hundred thirty-eight point twenty-three crore rupees for the year through March 2026.
Air India’s incoming chief executive, Tewolde Gebremariam, has set out a plan to rein in costs and lift revenue while improving safety and operational reliability. He also wants growth tied to profitability rather than expansion alone. The priorities reach beyond finance.
At a town hall with employees, Gebremariam said controlling expenses should involve staff throughout the airline, not only executives and finance teams. He said the carrier would introduce rewards for ideas that deliver verifiable savings or make operations more efficient.
“Cost management is not just the responsibility of leadership or the finance function. Every employee can contribute to savings, and those savings add up across an organisation of our scale,”
Gebremariam also called for better performance on both sides of the ledger. He identified the international network, commercial activities and cargo business as places to pursue additional revenue.
The push for cost discipline will accompany a wider focus on safety, dependable operations and sustainable growth. The airline is reviewing how it uses its network, fleet and operating structures.
Passengers will judge the reset by everyday service
Gebremariam described his agenda at his first town hall as a return to basic execution. He highlighted punctual departures and arrivals, baggage delivery and clean aircraft. Those are visible tests for passengers.
He also named on-time performance, baggage handling and disruption management as operating priorities, alongside stronger safety reporting. The service goals are intended to help rebuild customer confidence, while the safety focus addresses a separate part of the operating agenda.
Gebremariam put the service standard this way:
“Operational excellence is about getting the basics right every day: on-time departures, on-time arrivals, baggage delivery and clean aircraft,”
He wants profitable, sustainable growth, not growth for its own sake. That approach leaves network efficiency, fleet deployment and operating structures under review as the airline works to improve performance.
A possible group merger sits alongside fleet changes
One cost-saving proposal under discussion would bring Air India Express into the broader group. The stated rationale is to reduce overlapping management, engineering and administrative work, while also lowering regulatory burdens.
The proposal remains an idea under consideration, rather than a completed restructuring. Separately, the carrier has been examining fleet deployment and rebalancing its operations to improve long-term competitiveness.
These efforts put operational design alongside employee-led savings. The company has also identified network choices and how it deploys aircraft as areas to assess, rather than relying on expense cuts alone.
The turnaround begins under pressure
The financial task is substantial. The airline recorded a loss of Rs 22,238.23 crore in the year through March 2026, and its incoming chief executive must seek better results while managing a large order book and operational issues.
That pressure frames the dual revenue-and-cost agenda. Higher earnings from international flying, commercial activity and cargo sit alongside the effort to make savings part of daily work.
The airline’s immediate operating checklist remains concrete: punctual flights, delivered baggage, managed disruptions and stronger safety reporting. Its plans also include evaluating fleet deployment and operational structures as it pursues profitable growth.
