About 6 in 10 Air India fliers noted issues with Air India's timeliness, while 40% of them flagged problems with the airline's food quality and transparency in communicating information, according to a report from LocalCircles on Thursday.
The report surveyed 18,483 respondents regarding issues they faced with flying Air India in the past twelve months. It stated that 3 in 10 passengers identified issues with the quality and the maintenance of the airline's aircrafts. The report, however, saw a 45% reduction in complaints regarding the quality of the planes with 34% in 2026, compared to 79% in 2025.
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Issues regarding the airline's baggage handling persisted with 28% reporting problems with this aspect of Air India. The grievances regarding this issue in 2025 made up 48% of the complaints, showing a sizeable reduction.
This survey comes after Tewolde Gebremariam took over the position of Air India's chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) from Campbell Wilson on Aug. 5 after the latter resigned from the position. The airline has been faced with "mounting regulatory pressure, continuing losses, and fallout from the 2025 Ahmedabad crash" as stated by the report.
The airline has displayed progress with fleet expansion and quality, as well as digital modernisation according to global passenger experience forums and internal Net Promoter Scores. Despite this, it still lags behind when it comes to customer satisfaction, the survey noted.
"Sustained focus on execution, safety perception, and customer-centric service will be crucial if Air India is to convert its transformation efforts into long-term growth and stronger global standing. The change leadership will hopefully see Air India improving its performance on all counts," the report said.
"With Tewolde Gebremariam — chosen for his record of large-scale airline turnarounds and profitable expansion at Ethiopian Airlines — now set to take charge, the next few months will test whether the transformation retains its momentum and translates into measurable improvement for fliers," it added.
Up to 63% of the survey's respondents were men while 37% of respondents were women. 44% of respondents were from tier 1, 28% of from tier 2 and 28% respondents were from tier 3, 4, 5 and rural districts.
"The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey," the report said.
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