Why is a Grammy winning artist calling for Air India to become Air Tata?

Changing Air India’s name to Air Tata may resolve many of the issues with the airline, said Padma Shri and three-time Grammy Award winner composer, Ricky Kej. He said this after an Air India flight could not complete its long haul journey from Delhi to London due to excessive vibration and noise in the belly hold section – a second such case in 10 days.

Kej criticised the airline and said he has consistently had some of the “worst, shocking experiences”. 

“I feel that things will get reversed if the TATA group is no longer permitted to use the ‘India’ name and are forced to call it Air TATA. They will pull up their socks, and work hard, since they will not want to taint their principle brand. It is sad that every client, colleague, musician, that I invite to India absolutely refuse to travel by Air India, because of its reputation.. even if they have not experienced it themselves before,” he said.

When the Air India flight had to cut short the long haul journey, it was in the Oman airspace. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) initiated a probe into the issue. 

“AI 111 returned to Delhi as a precautionary measure after a suspected technical issue was identified. A non‑specific vibration was felt in the cabin, though the flight deck indications remained normal. In an abundance of caution, the flight crew elected to return to Delhi, where the aircraft landed safely. The aircraft is currently undergoing thorough technical checks in accordance with Air India’s stringent safety protocols. Air India’s ground teams in Delhi are providing full assistance to passengers and crew, including refreshments and all necessary support,” said a company spokesperson.

The same issue happened to an Air India flight from New York to Delhi. 

Meanwhile, only last year Air India was issued a show-cause notice by DGCA for operating flight AI-358 and AI-357 between Delhi and Tokyo with prior knowledge of repeated snags and existing system degradation. This month, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) raised concerns about safety lapses on Air India flights following surprise inspections at European airports.

Kej had earlier too complained about Air India after his Bengaluru to Delhi flight for 9:55 am was cancelled, and he was moved to the 10 pm flight. The musician said he received zero intimation about the cancellation. 

Air India had responded that the flight was cancelled due to weather conditions. Kej said the website showed that the flight was on schedule, and they received their cancellation messages after they reached the airport.