NEW DELHI - In order to increase the amount of money it makes from each flight, Air India is switching to algorithm-based software that has long been used by competitors. Until recently, it was reliant on an antiquated manual pricing system.

Another illustration of Air India's rapid transformation under the new ownership of Tata Group is the airline's testing of ChatGPT, a well-liked chatbot from OpenAI, to replace paper-based procedures.

As Air India works to eliminate decades-old bureaucratic procedures and regain customers from powerful domestic rivals IndiGo and Dubai's Emirates, the effort to modernize highlights the decay left by years of underinvestment.

Last week, Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said of the system, "Frankly the system is almost so bad it's good,"jury-rig"jury-rig"

Air India is merging with Vistara, while low-cost Air India Express and AirAsia India are also coming together, in addition to overhauling every aspect of operations, from systems to supply chains.

The 52-year-old New Zealander claimed that some fields, like technology, allow for a fresh start, which is why he is putting artificial intelligence (AI) and other tools at the center of Air India's reboot.

Instead of the outdated practice of having one fare for each block of seats, modern "revenue management" software constantly anticipates where people want to go and how much each flyer is willing to pay.

As a result, the company sees an increase in revenue per flight, making this a low-hanging fruit in its transformation.

Wilson must navigate a maze of fleets and personnel that is as difficult to navigate as Delhi's winding roads, making it difficult for the airline to succeed.

According to Keith McMullan, a partner at the UK-based consultancy Aviation Strategy with knowledge of the Indian market, "Complexity is the curse of airlines,"

He said they should start over with a blank sheet of paper, as they are advocating, but saying it and doing it are two very different things. The risk is in continuing to put out legacy-related fires.

The success of Air India is crucial for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration because it wants to use its size and influence to make India a global aviation power like Dubai or Singapore.

In order to get idle planes flying before Air India begins receiving the 470 jets it ordered in a record deal last month, Wilson's immediate game plan is to address pressing issues.

For instance, rather than waiting for suppliers to deliver outdated parts, it is collaborating with Tata Technologies to manufacture some plastic components for economy-class seats locally.

Additionally, it is reworking its network strategy to draw Indians abroad while grabbing any available planes it can find on lease.

Wilson stated in an interview conducted last week on the sidelines of the CAPA India conference that any inconsistencies can be ironed out as the turnaround gains momentum.

Wilson, who was chosen to head the turnaround last year by Tata after it regained control of the carrier, said, "This is a transformation as well as a startup,"

Drawing from his experience as the founding CEO of Singapore Airlines' low-cost carrier Scoot, he told Reuters that "In a startup, you just do what you need to do to get going and then you refine along the way,"

However, he asserted that a fresh start cannot and should not be taken everywhere.

Analysts predict that as Air India completes the twin mergers, Wilson's phased turnaround plans will be put to the test. In India, airline mergers have not been particularly successful, with Air India still suffering from the disastrous 2007 integration of Indian Airlines. They suffered for years as a result of Kingfisher's merger with Air Deccan and Jet Airways' acquisition of Sahara. Right now, JetBlue and Kingfisher are insolvent. Already, Air India's aircraft are a mixture of Airbus and Boeing (BA). Vinod Kannan, CEO of the joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines called Vistara, told Reuters that managing mixed fleets is a nightmare and that no airline would choose to do it.

Air India, once a model for Singapore Airlines, is now far behind, especially in terms of service and punctuality, which it needs to quickly improve if it wants to reclaim market share from Gulf carriers, which handle the majority of India's international traffic.

Early indications of success include: According to government data, Air India's domestic share increased to 9% at the end of February from 7.5% in mid-2022, and its international traffic increased by 28% in the October-December quarter compared to the April-June period.

When Air India and Vistara merge, those numbers should increase significantly, but the merger also presents new difficulties.

In an interview at Vistara's office near Delhi, where the average staff age is 29, Kannan said, "You can get everything right but the people and the culture ... it is not easy to get that right,"

At Air India, it is 50 plus.

The combination is scheduled to be finished by March 2024, and Kannan stated that "the intent is very much there." Now it is just a matter of carrying it out, which is difficult but something we will manage.