Air India makeover: Aviation giant upgrades cabins, lounges to boost revenue – The Times of India

Air India is beginning a makeover of its older planes, rolling out upgraded cabins on older aircraft, inducting new planes, and introducing premium airport lounges as part of a broader push to strengthen revenue and return to profitability. The airline is now shifting its focus on high-value passengers to improve earnings and move back towards profitability.The airline is investing around $400 million (Rs 3,622 crore) to upgrade inflight cabins across its wide-body fleet, including Boeing 787s and earlier 777 aircraft, which have faced passenger complaints over worn seating and declining food quality.The Tata Group-owned carrier is laying emphasis on premium traffic, with chief customer officer Rajesh Dogra confirming that eight Boeing 787-8 aircraft will operate this year with fully refurbished interiors, ET reported. Earlier on Sunday, Air India presented the first of its retrofitted Boeing 787 aircraft, which is set to enter service on European routes shortly. The upgraded business class features suite-style seating with sliding privacy doors, along with enclosed storage compartments, redesigned seat controls, and adjustable armrests that include built-in water-bottle storage. The aircraft was originally delivered to Air India in 2015, during its state ownership phase.“The cabin quality has been one of the major pain points in our transformation journey and one which we always wanted to address. We are rapidly modernising the backbone of our long-haul fleet and raising the bar for customers flying between India and the world,” Dogra told the financial agency.Alongside fleet upgrades, the airline is also set to induct around six wide-body aircraft this year and expand its ground infrastructure with new premium lounges at key international gateways, including San Francisco and New York. In February, it inaugurated its first such lounge in Delhi, its primary hub.Dogra said that these changes are expected to help Air India attract more high-value passengers, supporting improved ticket yields. Premium cabins, particularly business and first class, remain critical revenue drivers for airlines, often offsetting lower fares in economy.“We are already seeing the benefit of operating planes with new interiors on routes like Dubai, New York, London,” said Dogra. “As more and more new aircraft join, it will only improve.”According to the airline, customer satisfaction has also shown a marked improvement, with the net promoter score rising significantly following the introduction of new aircraft and refurbished cabins.