Air India’s efforts to revamp its products seem to be generating greenshoots of positive feedback from its customers. According to an an ongoing survey, which commenced three months ago, 47 percent of the respondents expressed satisfaction with the airline’s services. 

The Tata-owned airline has received feedback from a staggering 1.4 lakh passengers, providing insights into their experiences. The airline posed questions on three categories — check in, in-flight, as well as arrival and exit.

Overall, despite areas requiring improvement, 47 per cent of the passengers surveyed considered themselves promoters of Air India’s services. Moreover, the significant increase in respondents — over 10 times between February and April —indicates a growing engagement and interest from passengers in providing feedback to help the airline improve further.

Passengers highlighted both positive and negative aspects of their journey with the airline. The check-in process received relatively positive feedback, with 48 per cent of passengers expressing satisfaction. However, only 29 per cent felt the process was truly seamless, indicating that there is room for improvement in this area.

In terms of the in-flight experience, customers were less content, giving the airline an average score of 6.4. Issues primarily revolved around seating comfort, particularly on long-haul routes operated by older aircraft. Nevertheless, passengers highly recommended the behaviour of the crew as well as the quality of in-flight meals.

The arrival and exit experiences also received mixed reviews. While over 40 per cent of passengers expressed satisfaction with the timely arrival of their baggage, a significant 87 per cent was disappointed with the lack of support and assistance provided by the ground staff. This highlights the need for better customer service during these critical touchpoints.

Campbell Wilson, the CEO and MD of Air India, addressed the feedback and expressed optimism about the airline’s progress. He said: “Pleasingly, although we’re short of where we aim to eventually be, we have seen a significant improvement in NPS compared to last year’s benchmark, and there are many areas where we are doing very well.” Wilson highlighted the airline’s strong performance on domestic and short-haul international routes, as well as its efficient operations at airports such as Pune, Kolkata, and Trivandrum.

In January last year, the airline was purchased by Tata Sons. Since then, it has set targets for revamping its product and operations among other things. To achieve its five-year target goals, Air India has made substantial changes to its product offerings and operations. The company has committed over $400 million for aircraft refurbishments, including the restoration of in-flight entertainment systems in first and business-class seats, with economy seats following suit at nearly 90 percent completion. Air India has also brought critical customer service functions in-house and initiated a revamp of its customer notification system across all touchpoints.

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