{"id":34719,"date":"2025-01-17T08:39:22","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T13:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/?p=34719"},"modified":"2025-01-26T15:07:32","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T20:07:32","slug":"air-india-fleet-lounges-loyalty-program-hubs-under-vihaan-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/air-india-fleet-lounges-loyalty-program-hubs-under-vihaan-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"To Travel or Not to Travel on Air India Flights in 2025: Top 10 Compelling Reasons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Air India, which played a knight in shining armor several times for the countrymen stranded abroad during geopolitical conflicts and COVID-19, was struggling with an albatross (debts, losses, and threats of a shutdown) around its neck before the Tata Group welcomed the airline back home as the best-ever tribute to JRD Tata. Since its takeover by Ratan Tata, Air India has resurrected from its decades-long state of inertia, inefficiency, incompetence\u2026to become \u201ca world-class airline with an Indian heart\u201d through its 5-year transformation plan, Vihaan.AI.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Air<\/p>\n

Air India Lounges<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Being a Tata brand, Air India is betting on hospitality to elevate passenger experience from the height of 40,000 feet to ground. The flagship Air India Maharaja lounges at New York JFK Airport and New Delhi IGI Airport are currently undergoing a large-scale renovation. Currently, Air India\u2019s domestic lounge network covers 26 airports, including tier-II Lucknow, Madurai, Vadodara, Indore, Nagpur, Mangalore, Patna, and Srinagar airports.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Opened in early 2024, the Air India lounge at Bengaluru International Airport is wooing premium travelers with its regal d\u00e9cor, modern amenities, swanky furniture, and best-in class hospitality<\/strong>. The convenience of flying in premium travel classes with premium economy or business flight tickets to Mumbai<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai doubles over Air India\u2019s lounging hospitality at those airports. Plush couches, cozy sofas, complimentary Wi-Fi, dedicated nap rooms with recliners, showers, fully-stocked mini bars\u2026are some of the benefits at third-party airport lounges in Air India\u2019s global network.<\/p>\n

Air India\u2019s Fleet Upgrade and Modernization<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fleet upgrade and modernization is at the center of Vihaan.AI – Air India\u2019s 5-year transformation plan, which is halfway to repositioning the airline as a world-class carrier<\/strong>. Air India has inducted brand new A350-900 planes<\/strong><\/a><\/span> into international service as part of its multibillion-dollar fleet expansion project, alongside absorbing Vistara aircraft into its fleet after the merger. A350-900 planes with Premium Economy seats and luxurious business class suites tick all the boxes, from elevated inflight dining to redefined inflight entertainment \u2013 for premium travel experience that Indian Diaspora had been waiting for.<\/p>\n

Air India\u2019s game changer \u2013 A350-900s are operating nonstop flights to India from New York<\/a><\/span><\/strong> JFK, Newark EWR, and London Heathrow. The Tata airline is looking to roll out top-notch First Class suites on yet-to-be-delivered A350-1000s for select intercontinental routes with demand shooting up for premium travel.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Among Air India\u2019s goals in 2025 is improving travel experience on domestic routes for domestic passengers and international passengers having domestic connections to\/from the gateway airports – Mumbai and Delhi.\u2019 Air India has retained the erstwhile Vistara A321neo aircraft with Premium Economy for flights to Singapore from Delhi and Mumbai.<\/p>\n

Air India\u2019s Fleet Retrofit Program<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Vihaan.AI \u2013 Air India\u2019s ongoing transformation from a laggard to a TATA brand, will see completion of the US$ 400-million retrofit project by mid-2025<\/strong>. As many as 27 A320neo planes in the A320 fleet family of narrowbody aircraft that Air India describes as \u2018a backbone of its domestic and short-haul international operations\u2019 are upgraded with new cushy seats, carpets, upholstery, and amenities to turn around the airline for 80 to 85% of its total passengers on metro to metro and non-metro routes.<\/p>\n

The retrofitted aircraft in Air India\u2019s fleet will up the game with contemporary interiors and passenger-friendly upgrades such as USB chargers, portable electronic device holders, and Wi-Fi<\/strong>. The single-aisle fleet will progressively feature a three-class configuration: economy, premium economy, and business. Also, 40 Boeing 787 aircraft in Air India\u2019s widebody fleet will be refurbished and retrofitted starting this year, under the same modernization program, to deliver a whole new flying experience, according to Nipun Aggarwal, Air India\u2019s Chief Commercial Officer.<\/p>\n

Maharaja Club: Air India\u2019s Frequent Flyer Loyalty Program<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the advantages of flying with Air India in 2025 is the opportunity to earn award flights, extra check-in baggage allowance, complimentary cabin upgrades and lounge access.<\/strong> After two years of its takeover by Ratan Tata, Air India launched the Maharaja Club, a unique frequent flyer loyalty program with a myriad of benefits and privileges. You can earn Maharaja points not only for booking Air India flight tickets<\/strong><\/a><\/span> but also for traveling with its Star Alliance partners, including Lufthansa, United Airlines, Air Canada, SWISS Air, Turkish Airlines, and Singapore Airlines.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Air India\u2019s Maharaja Club lets you create a family pool of loyalty rewards earned by your family members by linking their Maharaja Club accounts<\/strong>. Whenever the family members fly with Air India or any of the Star Alliance partners and spend with Air India\u2019s non-airline partners (hotels, restaurants, brand stores, etc.), their Maharaja points get accumulated in the family pool. As the family head, you can specify what percentage of their reward points would be added to the family pool. Your spouse, children, parents, siblings, and in-laws can join the family pool, but the strength should not exceed nine members including you.<\/p>\n

You can redeem your own Maharaja points or the points collected in the family pool to book award flights to Washington DC<\/strong>,<\/a><\/span> Chicago, San Francisco, New York, London, Singapore, or Dubai in either of the two categories: Value Fare and Prime Fare. With Prime Fare, you can redeem points to book your travel during peak seasons or flight deals for last-minute travel<\/a><\/span>. If reward points in your Maharaja Club account with Air India fall short of an award flight or a cabin upgrade, you can top up the account balance by buying points.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

New Air India Hub in South India<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Taking the cue from the success of its nonstop flights to Bengaluru from USA<\/a><\/span> and London, Air India is setting up a hub at Kempegowda BLR Airport for the vast South Indian Diaspora in the West<\/strong>. Central to Air India\u2019s long-haul network expansion plans, the new Bangalore hub will streamline international departures and arrivals through Kempegowda Airport for any part of South India. Additionally, the upcoming Air India hub at BLR Airport would help open more international routes from south Indian cities.<\/p>\n

Air India\u2019s primary hub, New Delhi Airport, for most nonstop flights to India from USA<\/strong> and other countries has overgrown its capacity. The South Indian Diaspora connecting to their destinations via New Delhi has been vocal about inconvenient transit at Indira Gandhi Airport, especially during winters when dense fog causes flight delays and cancellations. Undoubtedly, setting up its second hub away from north India marks a watershed moment in Air India\u2019s transformation as a most passenger-friendly airline.<\/p>\n

Upgrade Plus: Air India\u2019s Cabin Upgrade System for Economy Flyers<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In the first year of its transformation journey, Air India introduced Upgrade +, an easy-to-use cabin upgrade system for economy travelers to fly in a premium class. Those, who are not Air India\u2019s Maharaja Club members, can make the most of this program to upgrade their travel from economy to premium economy or business class for a little extra fare. Unlike the Maharaja Club, Air India\u2019s Upgrade Plus facility is exclusive to flying with Air India, not any Star Alliance member airline. Check out Indian Eagle Travel\u2019s guide on how to use Upgrade +<\/a><\/span> for premium class travel on Air India.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check-in Baggage Tracking on Air India Flights<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Among the perks of flying with Air India in 2025 is end-to-end tracking of your checked bags in real time<\/strong>. Integrated to Air India\u2019s website and mobile app, the luggage tracking feature provides real-time updates on your checked baggage from departure to arrival. It cover key touchpoints \u2013 check-in, security clearance, aircraft loading, transfer, and arrival \u2013 through your international journey with Air India. Read on to know how to use Air India\u2019s checked baggage tracker<\/a><\/span> for your peace of mind.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Air India\u2019s Vision 2025 and Service Standards<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Driven by CEO Campbell Wilson\u2019s Vision 2025, Air India is committed to and focused on elevating its service standards, alongside the fleet upgrade and aircraft retrofit project in progress. There are some reports of travelers unhappy with the airline\u2019s inflight service etiquette despite tangible improvements in onboard dining, seating, and inflight entertainment content on certain routes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201c2025 will see progress on many key initiatives, such as\u2026elevating Air India\u2019s service standards, raising the bar on what we consider \u2018good\u2019<\/strong>, and more consistently delivering to those new expectations. We will also strengthen and tighten our practices and processes so that we are not just consistent, we are also efficient and, ultimately, profitable,\u201d said CEO Campbell Wilson in a company newsletter to the employees and stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Wi-Fi on Air India Flights<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wi-Fi on select Air India flights operated by A350-900s and Boeing 787-9s lets you fly connected even above the clouds.<\/strong> Air India became the first Indian airline to introduce inflight Wi-Fi on domestic and short-haul international flights operated by A321neo planes. Air India\u2019s Vision 2025 of customer service standards encompasses plans to roll out Wi-Fi across its network from America to Australia progressively. Inflight Wi-Fi is also part of the Tata airline\u2019s $400-million aircraft refurbishment project (elaborated above). The travelers who got the best fare deals from IndianEagle.com<\/a><\/span>, a leading air-ticketing partner of Air India, for their winter holiday trips to India from New York and Newark are all praise of seamless Wi-Fi service on board.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Air India, which played a knight in shining armor several times for the countrymen stranded abroad during geopolitical conflicts and COVID-19, was struggling with an albatross (debts, losses, and threats of a shutdown) around its neck before the Tata Group welcomed the airline back home as the best-ever tribute to JRD Tata. Since its takeover […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[25,233],"yoast_head":"\n3 Years of Air India under Tatas: New Fleet, Wi-Fi, A350s, Maharaja Club, Lounges<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/air-india-fleet-lounges-loyalty-program-hubs-under-vihaan-ai\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Years of Air India under Tatas: New Fleet, Wi-Fi, A350s, Maharaja Club, Lounges\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Air India, which played a knight in shining armor several times for the countrymen stranded abroad during geopolitical conflicts and COVID-19, was struggling with an albatross (debts, losses, and threats of a shutdown) around its neck before the Tata Group welcomed the airline back home as the best-ever tribute to JRD Tata. 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