Campbell Wilson, Managing Director and CEO of Air India, has confirmed that the airline will pass on the additional costs incurred due to the closure of Pakistani airspace to its customers. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Wilson acknowledged the operational challenges brought on by the situation and emphasised that the airline is doing its best to adapt.
"There is a significant additional cost. And ultimately, it does get passed on to the consumer—whether it's because there are fewer seats available and the remaining seats are under higher demand, or we just pass through the actual cost increase that we are incurring," he said.
"We all hope that this normalises as quickly as possible. But, unfortunately, it's out of our hands," Wilson said. The airline does not know how long the current restrictions will remain. "Last time there were such tensions that lasted six months or so. We don't know what the case will be this time," he added.
New Strategies For Business
Wilson highlighted the need to reconfigure business strategies based on the prevailing environment. "We just need to configure our business to whatever environment exists at the time and deploy accordingly. There are obviously costs associated with that. Clearly, fuel is a big factor," he said.
"It does mean that there's a longer flight time—to Europe about an hour longer, to North America about three hours longer. But we have been able to optimise our operations such that we are able to maintain non-stop service to nearly all of the places that we fly," he noted.
Wilson noted that some flights have been slightly affected. "There's a couple of cities in North America en route to which we need to take a short refueling stop, which adds a little bit of time, cost, and inconvenience. So it's frustrating for us. It's frustrating for passengers, but it really is part and parcel of the puzzle of international aviation that we have to make these accommodations,” he said.
Route Adjustments
Wilson also acknowledged route adjustments. "We are exploring a new route, for flights to the West Coast of the United States," he noted.
Referring to changes after the closure of Pakistani airspace, he said, "We take a refueling stop in Kolkata, but that's very limited. Most of the routes we operate to North America are operating non-stop still and will continue to do so."
The CEO clarified that while airspace restrictions pose a challenge, fleet expansion is a separate issue. "The addition of extra flights into North America, we would certainly like to do. But that is a function of aircraft deliveries, not airspace restrictions," he stated.
Wilson assured that only three cities currently do not have non-stop services. “Every other flight that we have previously operated is continuing to operate non-stop,” he said, adding that despite longer durations, “the business proposition remains compelling.”
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