Air India is examining a deeper integration of back-office and technical functions with Air India Express, in a move that could reshape how the two carriers operate and signal a broader cost discipline push across the airline group. The review, which covers common human resources, finance, information technology and engineering functions, is aimed at reducing duplication and improving efficiency as the airline works through a long and expensive turnaround.
Cost Discipline Push
The proposed sharing of key teams reflects the pressure on India's flag carrier to bring down overheads after years of losses, fleet renewal costs and a complex restructuring process. Air India, now under Tata Group ownership, has been trying to rebuild its network, service standards and profitability at the same time, a combination that has required heavy investment and careful cost management. In that context, consolidating support functions across Air India and Air India Express could help the group extract scale benefits without immediately altering the customer-facing identity of either airline.
The review is especially significant because it suggests the group is moving beyond visible operational changes and into the less visible but often more consequential layers of corporate structure. Shared services in HR, finance and IT are common in large airline groups, particularly where one carrier operates as a full-service international airline and the other as a low-cost domestic and regional operator. Engineering functions, however, are more sensitive because they sit closer to safety, maintenance reliability and fleet availability. Any integration in that area would need to be carefully designed to avoid disrupting aircraft turnaround times or maintenance standards.
Shared Services Under Review
For Air India, the logic is straightforward: a single corporate group running multiple airline brands can often reduce costs by centralising functions that do not need to be duplicated at every operating unit. That can include payroll systems, procurement, vendor management, employee administration, budgeting, enterprise software and certain technical planning functions. In an industry where margins are thin and fuel, leasing and maintenance costs are high, even modest savings in overhead can matter.
The move also fits a wider pattern seen in airline restructuring globally, where owners seek to create common platforms across subsidiaries while preserving separate commercial positioning. Air India Express, which operates as a low-cost carrier, has a different business model from Air India's full-service operations. Yet both airlines are part of the same ownership structure and increasingly appear to be being managed with a group-wide efficiency lens. The challenge is to balance integration with the need for clear accountability, especially if the two carriers continue to serve different market segments and route structures.
There is also a labour dimension. Any review of shared teams can raise questions among employees about reporting lines, role duplication and future staffing needs. While the airline has not publicly detailed the scope or timing of any changes, such reviews often precede organisational redesigns that can lead to redeployment, consolidation or selective hiring freezes. In a sector where talent retention is already difficult, management will likely need to communicate carefully to avoid uncertainty spreading through the workforce.
Wider Turnaround Context
The review comes at a time when Air India is under pressure to demonstrate that its transformation is not only visible in aircraft orders and cabin upgrades but also in the economics of running the business. The airline has been rebuilding its international presence, modernising its fleet and trying to improve punctuality and service reliability. Those efforts require capital, but they also demand a leaner operating model if the group is to move toward sustainable profitability.
For policymakers and the broader market, the development is a reminder that the airline sector's recovery is not just about traffic growth. It is also about whether legacy carriers can re-engineer their internal structures to compete with more efficient rivals. If Air India succeeds in sharing core teams with Air India Express without compromising service or safety, it could become a template for further rationalisation across the group. If not, the exercise could expose the limits of integration in a business where operating complexity remains high.
At this stage, the review appears to be an internal cost-optimisation exercise rather than a wholesale merger of the two airlines. But even a partial consolidation of support and technical functions would mark a meaningful step in the Tata Group's effort to turn Air India into a more disciplined, commercially viable airline group.