Air India is halfway through its “Vihaan.AI” five-year transformation, aiming for a 30% domestic market share and increased international presence. Its fleet has grown 40% in 30 months to nearly 300 aircraft, with 570 more on order, leading to almost a doubling of weekly flights since September 2022.
Halfway through the five-year transformation plan, the Tata Sons-owned Air India is on course to achieve its market share target of 30% in the domestic space on the back of an expanding fleet that has grown by 40% in 30 months.
Announced in September 2022, the Vihaan.AI plan also aims to increase the former flag carrier’s market share in the international market, and put the company on the path to sustained growth, profitability and market leadership.
From 24% recorded in September 2022 (start of plan), Air India group’s (including Air India Express) domestic market share increased to 26.5% by the end of March, 2025, according to data supplied by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
IndiGo, the country’s largest carrier, however, improved its domestic share significantly to 64.3% in March 2025 from 58% recorded in September 2022. Akasa Air, which was launched in August 2022, managed to grab nearly 5% by the end of FY25.
While SpiceJet was constrained on capacity, the grounding and subsequent exit of embattled carrier Go First, saw their market share get redistributed to IndiGo, Air India and Akasa Air.
The merger of AirAsia India and Air India Express and the merger between Vistara and Air India resulted in the creation of the Air India group, which presently has a fleet of nearly 300 aircraft.
A total of 570 aircraft have been ordered by the airline since the start of Vihaan.AI, including 80 widebody planes from Boeing and Airbus. This has helped the airline induct one aircraft every six days.
“Air India has added close to 2,500 weekly flights to its route network (includes domestic and international flights), growing the number of weekly flights by over 95% since September 2022,” said an Air India spokesperson.
The addition of 500 weekly flights to its international network since the launch of Vihaan.AI and adding several new destinations has led to near doubling of Air India market share to 23% by the end of December, 2024 from 12% recorded in December 2022, according to the DGCA data.
While the airline awaits new aircraft deliveries, its entire fleet of 67 legacy single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft is undergoing a $400 million retrofit programme. Its old aircraft will get new seats in a three-class cabin configuration, carpets, curtains, lavatories, along with a fresh coat of paint, new livery – all in the new Air India branding.
“Since September 2022, Air India has added 12 new destinations that include London Gatwick, Amsterdam, Milan, Copenhagen, Vienna, Zurich, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City, Denpasar-Bali, Malé (Maldives), and Mauritius,” added the spokesperson.
At the group level, the international route network has been optimised to better match routes with the most appropriate airline business model, focusing the full-service airline (Air India) on high connectivity and high-demand short to ultra long-haul routes out of its three major hubs in India – Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The low-cost airline (Air India Express) focuses on more price-sensitive short-haul routes connecting other parts of India to destinations across the South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Gulf regions.
During FY24, Air India’s consolidated losses reduced by over 50% year-on-year to 4,444 crore, and consolidated operating revenues rose by 25% to38,812 crore, the highest-ever level.
