US travel demand dips for Air India, but outlook remains strong: CEO

Air India has witnessed a decline in travel demand to the United States due to a mix of operational and market challenges, but the situation is temporary and the airline remains optimistic about long-term prospects, chief executive officer Campbell Wilson said on Monday.

North America remains one of Air India’s most important international markets. The Tata Group-owned carrier is currently restructuring its wide-body fleet — which includes Boeing 777 aircraft — as part of its ongoing transformation programme.

Responding to a question during a briefing, Wilson confirmed that demand on US routes has softened. “There are many factors at play, including airspace constraints, additional flying time, and refuelling stock needed at some place. There are also visa issues that cause a little bit of trepidation amongst people travelling to or from the US,” he said.

Air India currently serves six cities in North America — Newark, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto — operating 51 weekly flights one way, using Boeing 777s and Airbus A350s.

Wilson stressed that the fall in demand is likely to be short-lived. “We’re still very confident in the long-term prospects of the market. As I say, we’ve got alternative opportunities to deploy these aircraft. So, we’ll just continue to be agile,” he said.

On fleet and crew adjustments, Wilson said the airline has offered pilots an optional temporary contract to fly fewer hours each month, particularly in the Boeing 777 fleet. Air India is set to operate a smaller number of 777s in 2026 as leased aircraft are returned and some owned aircraft are retired. The airline currently has 22 Boeing 777s.

“We are shrinking that fleet because we’ve got to return aircraft to lessors, and we’ve got a lot of (Boeing) 787s and (Airbus) 350s coming in. It’s just the natural flux of converting from one aircraft fleet to another,” Wilson said.

He added that the “flexi contracts” have been offered across fleets, with acceptance dependent on operational requirements.