Air India will soon extend its revamped loyalty program Maharaja Club to customers of low-cost carrier Air India Express, a company executive said during a discussion with reporters.
Air India Express’ frequent flyer program is currently integrated into the Tata NeuPass program, which consolidates all Tata brands in one platform for customers.
Overhauled last April, the Air India loyalty program now features a point-based system with enhanced “earn and burn” opportunities. Nippun Aggarwal, Air India’s chief commercial officer and transformation officer, said the membership has surged from 3 million to 10 million, with monthly enrollments increasing fivefold. The number of active members have also gone up significantly.
“The loyalty program was long overdue for transformation. Today, it is designed to maximize value for customers,” Aggarwal said.
Plans for co-branded credit cards are also underway, with the goal of significantly scaling participation and improving customer rewards. “The co-branded credit cards present a huge market opportunity. The numbers that we have today are very small, and we are working to simplify the card portfolio and come out with a new card with a much stronger value proposition,” he said.
Reimagining the Network: A Dual-Airline Strategy
Aggarwal also emphasized an integrated operation between Air India and Air India Express. “We are clearly segregating the market to determine where Air India will operate and where Air India Express will operate.”
Air India, the flagship carrier, will focus on premium traffic and full-service operations across international and metro markets, leveraging hubs in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Air India Express will concentrate on short-haul markets and point-to-point domestic routes.
“We aim to strengthen connectivity through our hubs, bringing traffic from Southeast Asia and the India subcontinent and create robust corridors to Europe, North America, and beyond,” said Aggarwal. Network rationalization efforts have already reduced route overlaps significantly, with overlap on short-haul routes falling from 26% to 5%.
At the Skift Global Forum East in Dubai this November, Aloke Singh, managing director of Air India Express, confirmed the airline has no plans to introduce business class. “Our focus is on offering transfer connections through our hubs to Air India’s long-haul flights and other low-cost partners overseas,” he said.
Opportunity in Long-Haul Markets
India’s long-haul market, though accounting for only 12% of the 222 million passenger volume, generates over 50% of revenue, an estimated $16 billion from 26 million travelers.
Historically, Indian airlines have focused on domestic and short-haul markets, lacking the wide-body aircraft needed for long-haul routes. As a result, Indian carriers, led by Air India, hold only a 21% share of the long-haul segment, despite its outsized revenue potential. This low share presents significant growth opportunities, Aggarwal said.
Only 15% of the connecting traffic passes through India, while the rest fly through foreign hubs such as Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, and Singapore. highlighting a gap in the country’s hub infrastructure.
Air India’s strategy aims to address this imbalance by strengthening domestic hubs to capture a larger share of connecting traffic. While non-stop routes have their limits, developing these hubs is key to competing with foreign airlines and reclaiming market share, Aggarwal said.
With long-haul making up more than half of India’s air travel revenue opportunity, this segment is central to Air India’s growth plans over the next decade. The airline is leveraging its fleet expansion and premium offerings to compete with established international carriers.
“We are focused on enhancing the long-haul experience with better connections, reduced layover times, and better in-flight experience,” Aggarwal noted. Connecting times have been slashed from six hours to three, thanks to optimized schedules and increased narrow-body capacity.
Premium Focus and a First Class Coming Up
Aggarwal outlined Air India’s strategy to become a global leader in the premium travel segment. He highlighted that revenue growth in Air India’s premium cabins, including business class and premium economy, has outpaced economy class, reflecting strong demand for upgraded experiences.
The airline is introducing three-class configurations on most of its aircraft, with plans to develop first-class products on select widebody planes.
Air India will begin retrofitting 40 widebody aircraft in the second half of this year, with 100 narrowbody aircraft set to feature a three-class configuration by mid-2025. The first Boeing 787-9 will roll out later this year, Aggarwal said.
Revenue Growth and Capacity Boost
Air India’s standalone revenue has surged 1.7 times in the current financial year compared to pre-Covid levels, with cargo and ancillary revenue doubling.
“While our capacity has gone up 1.3 times, revenue is up by 1.7 times, which means our revenue per unit seats sold has gone up by almost 1.4 times,” Aggarwal said.
The airline’s domestic capacity has also expanded significantly, particularly through the Vistara merger, resulting in doubled frequencies in metro-to-non-metro connectivity. The metro-to-metro connectivity has also gone up from 143 frequencies to 256.
