Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran
“If there is a requirement for it, we can look at it,” he said business line on the sidelines of a JRD Tata Memorial Trust event to mark Tata’s 121st birth anniversary. He did not elaborate or confirm whether the airline had approached its parent company for money.
Sources have previously indicated this business line that the airline is seeking funds of up to ₹10,000 crore from its promoters, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines for continued upgrades. In FY25, both stakeholders had injected a little over ₹9,500 crore into Air India.
Addressing a commemoration event on Saturday, Chandrasekaran pointed out that the aviation sector is facing challenging times due to disruptions in global supply chains, outbreak of geopolitical tensions, movement of capital employed and fuel costs. However, he added that aviation for the group was not only a business opportunity but also a responsibility.
Supply chain disruptions have made the availability of parts, infrastructure and new fleets quite unpredictable. “Any plan you have becomes difficult because of the situations you face in this area,” says Chandrasekaran.
Capital was also a challenge. “You invest the capital you need to generate returns. And only then can you deploy new capital. It’s like a cycle, you have to continuously upgrade.”
He also pointed out that aviation is an industry that operates on “very thin margins.” “And it has a love-hate relationship with oil prices, so there are different aspects to deal with,” Chandrasekaran said.
After recapturing Air India in 2021, the Tata group has struggled to get the airline back on its feet as it continues to face heavy losses in cabin service quality.
In FY25, Air India posted a consolidated net loss of ₹10,859 crore on revenues of ₹78,636 crore.
Some events cannot be managed, Chandrasekaran said. Geopolitical tensions that have flared up between countries, leading to airspace closures, route diversions and increased fuel consumption, cannot be contained.
“Your flights are taking longer, fuel costs are increasing, payload is decreasing and you are irritating customers. We have to manage all this, but then the demand is very high and the ambitions of Indians become greater.”
Echoing the transformation that Air India has started at Chandrasekaran, Chandrasekaran said the new aircraft would be added to the fleet, and “we will get new plans every month for the next three years”, by which time 95-99 percent of the fleet would be modern.
“But we have to work on each of these dimensions, that is the commitment we are working towards,” he said.
Published on November 29, 2025
#Tata #Sons #financing #Air #India