Once regarded as the epitome of India‘s most daring and ambitious business revival story, the turnaround of Air India today serves as a clear illustration of the challenges involved in revitalising a legacy company. While the acquisition of the airline by the Tata Group from the Government of India back in October 2021 has been widely celebrated as the return home of the Indian national carrier, which was established in 1932 by the members of the Tata family, the turnaround story has turned out to be a tough challenge.
Just after almost five years since the acquisition, the company is still struggling to achieve its full potential in spite of all the money, the record-breaking aircraft order, the expansion plans, the efforts aimed at the modernisation of the fleet and customer service improvements. Moreover, the frequent leadership changes and the management structure modifications have worsened the situation, adding even more complexity to the turnaround.
From the very first days after the acquisition, the Air India turnaround story has been developing from an intriguing case study into the complex challenge of bringing the state-owned company back on track. As many aviation experts state, the financial investment and the fleet modernisation are not enough for the successful turnaround unless the comprehensive reforms are applied to the governance system of the company, the culture and the accountability.
The most recent problems arose after Air India’s announcement of its intention to set up a transition committee responsible for managing the works of the airline company several weeks prior to Wilson’s exit in September 2026.
FY2026 followed the airline’s large losses and financial problems. Air India registered the highest ever annual loss since its acquisition by the Tata Group at about ₹26,800 crore (approximately US$2.8 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. This giant sum has The annual report of Singapore Airlines has revealed this significant loss. It was due to the impacts of geopolitical turmoil, airspace closures, higher fuel prices, limited aircraft supplies, and the difficulties arising from the merging of the extended airline network.
Air India’s financial losses in FY2026 occurred after the airline registered large losses in previous years since its acquisition in January 2022 by the Tata Group. Although the total losses incurred since the acquisition of Air India are not known because of the different figures for Air India and Air India Express, it is clear that Air India has registered losses in the tens of thousands of crores.
However, the most recent losses pose yet another question about when Air India will recover, with Tata Sons admitting that it will take Air India five to ten years instead of the initially proposed short period.
The responsibility that needs to be dealt with is not only monetary but also structural in nature. According to Reuters, quoting Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran on July 28, 2026, recovery will take almost ten years, while the previous Vihaan.AI strategy of five years was presented in 2022. The causes of the crises are related to sector shocks, high fuel prices, supply chain disruptions, outdated systems, and the necessity to change the culture of Air India and its staff. We can conclude that Air India is not just undergoing repairs; it is also undergoing reconstruction. Air India is not merely undergoing repairs; it is also undergoing a process of reconstruction.
This is what makes the present time completely illuminative. Air India was seen as a symbol of the gutsy revival of public undertakings by the private sector, but today it only reveals the challenges posed by the attempts to modernise a big airline with questionable governance, bad timing of departures of the team leaders and losses widening faster than the process of recovery. The challenge that the airline faces today is not only to be more efficient in its operations but also to prove that the idea of world-class Air India is not just beneficial from the theoretical point of view but rather practical as well.
