Indians can fuel growth at Air India, says Emirates boss, after acquisition by Tata

AIR INDIA has the potential to be one of the biggest airlines in the world, according to Emirates president Tim Clark.

The loss-making airline was taken over by the Tata Group in February.

Under their leadership, Clark believes Air India can match powerhouses like United Airlines.

Air India currently has approximately 128 planes in its fleet, whilst Chicago-based United Airlines has 860-odd aircraft.

“Air India should be as big as United Airlines. It should be as big because of its domestic market as well as the non-resident Indians (NRIs) abroad and the amount of economic activity that goes in and out of India. It is a goldmine,” Clark said on Monday (20).

“You (India) have got a billion population with an NRI diaspora which is so big and growing all the time that for the notion that Air India would not be one of the largest international carriers in the world defies all sense. “I think the best thing that could have happened to Air India was for Tatas to take it over.”

India’s international passenger market is dominated by international airlines like Emirates, one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates.

Emirates operates 170 flights connecting Dubai with India. It also carries a significant number of Indian passengers from India to Europe and US with one stop in

Dubai. While Air India remained a small player on the international passenger market for decades, there have been multiple casualties in the Indian aviation market like Vijay Mallya’s defunct Kingfisher Airlines, Clark noted.

“It is not easy to operate in the Indian market even though the population is pretty upwardly mobile and getting more mobile. So you need a safe pair of hands with business acumen to be able to activate this (Air India),” he added.