Air India will get a fresh brand identity with a revamped website and mobile app, Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said in a year-end note to employees.
“We are at the business end of Q4 now and it has been quite a year. Notably, we launched Vihaan.AI — our transformation roadmap in September and we’ve been firing on all cylinders ever since. We are currently taxiing as planned with 22 initiatives of our agenda in various stages of progress. Thanks to our collective efforts, we are well on schedule,” he said about the Tata group airline.
“It will take us a few years before we attain the world-class heights to which we aspire. But we have made a fantastic start, and you can all be proud of what has been achieved so far,” Wilson said.
He listed brand refresh as an upcoming milestone for the airline. He also mentioned that the airline has onboarded world-class brand and product design agencies but did not divulge further details. The airline’s owner, Tata Sons, has roped in UK-based brand and design consultancy firm Futurebrands to devise a new brand strategy for its airline, a media report said earlier this month. Futurebrands has worked on the rebranding of carriers, such as American Airlines, and this initiative is being planned alongside the integration of group airlines.
Wilson, a New Zealander, took charge of Air India in July and he leads the airline’s five-year plan called Vihaan. The plan includes fleet and network growth and improvements in customer service to increase market share and put the airline “on a path to sustained growth, profitability, and market leadership”.
The airline has announced it will lease 36 planes and add three new routes, with 10 more in the pipeline. It has hired more than 1,200 employees across functions for its expansion. It is negotiating with both Airbus and Boeing for planes.
The Tata group is integrating its four airlines into two: Air India and Air India Express.
Wilson said upcoming milestones for the airline include a future-ready organisation structure and team co-location in new offices. It has already initiated the process of rolling out digital HR solutions for employees. An employee survey is being carried out to get feedback on Vistara’s integration with Air India. Vistara is a full-service carrier co-owned by Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.
Earlier in the year, it was announced that Air India, Air India Express, and AirAsia India offices will shift to a new facility in Gurugram by March 2023. The move to consolidate workplaces is an integral part of the transformation agenda by improving collaboration among staff and more easily adopting technology, the airline said.