The Dreamliner – Dream turned into a nightmare

For all of us as regular travellers, Air Travel has been the most comfortable and hassle-free way of travelling. Many of us have done the long-haul flights across the Trans Atlantic and the Pacific, as we watched a few movies, sipped on wine and slept soundly as the constant hum of Rolls-Royce Trent or GE engines maintained a steadfast tempo. No matter which flight I am on, I have constantly kept a check on the flight map, especially on the long-haul across-the-ocean flights in excess of ten hours, mentally noting if any island airports are along the route just in case the flight needs to make an emergency landing. A few comfort checks here and there have always been important for my mind, so that both the movie and the wine can continue to be enjoyed.

I have also always pulled out the brochure kept in every passenger seat pocket that carries details of the aircraft, whether its a Boeing or an Airbus and I have always tried to understand the age of the aircraft and other nuances of the plane and somewhere at the back of the mind, counting the number of engines the flight is dependent on. The Airbus A-380 has on all counts given me maximum comfort, after all, it remains the largest passenger plane and with adequate backup options, even after a catastrophic engine failure. When Boeing launched the 787 Dreamliner in 2011, they had launched a state-of-the-art aeroplane with better fuel efficiency than even the A380. Boeing has built over 1188 Dreamliners, and even if the Dreamliner was involved in eight incidents and accidents since iits nception, the first fatal accident and hull loss happened as recently as June 12th 2025, in Ahmedabad.

And then there is the saga of Air India, our national carrier has had its share of ups and downs. I had previously written in 2012 that there was this affable Maharaja who once upon a time greeted his millions of travellers with a bow, a smile, a charming moustache and in crimson regalia until his clothes were torn to tatters. If not for the Tatas, the Maharaja would have been long buried and our national identity lost forever. The Tatas revived the Maharaja and made him sit by a ‘Jharoka’ as Air India rebranded itself with a new look and a new identity. I flew Air India a few months ago; it was a long-haul flight that flew direct to London from Bangalore. The Airline was not my first choice, but this was the only Airline that had availability for my date of travel. I flew the Dreamliner, and I must add I was impressed with the service in Business Class and the choice of menu. The passengers also got a branded kit of toiletries and lounge wear. I was not expecting this from Air India. The cabin crew was extremely courteous, and the service was well done. The aircraft was well maintained, and the flight was as smooth as butter, I thought. I actually disembarked at Heathrow, thinking that it’s about time I support the National Carrier and make it my primary choice even for international travel. Alas, now that is not to be and sadly so.

While we remained inspired and impressed with the cosmetic prop up of Air India, some hair-raising stories have emerged from the Boeing plant at Charleston, which assembles the Dreamliners. Watching the visuals of the Dreamliner as it desperately tried to keep its nose up and then burst into a ball of flames atop a densely populated residential area of Ahmedabad has left us all in total dismay. Some comprehensive reports from the media state that there have been quality concerns about the Boeing Dreamliners sold between 2013 and 2014 to Air India. There have been some documentaries floating around in which the workers at the plant at Charleston have categorically stated that they would not let any of their family members fly the Dreamliners. It remains a worrying fact that the workers at the Charleston assembly plant had no confidence in the safety of the Dreamliner that they had put together for safety and quality reasons best known to them.

The investigation into the dastardly crash will take a good few months before the real reason for the crash is revealed, but until then, the national carrier will continue to limp. Air India is running under staggering losses, and the dream of Tata reviving Air India into the green zone is looking more and more remote. Albeit the Airline losses fell from around 11,300 crores in FY 2023 to around 4,400 crores in FY2024, there is no indication from the Tatas when Air India will be profitable. The crash of the Dreamliner has also shaken our confidence in the national carrier. With a history riddled with financial turmoil, endless safety failures and with Tata stepping in around three years back to revive Air India, this crash has literally vaporised a massive effort by Tata to improve the airline. The Dream to revive the national carrier has now become a nightmare for the Tatas The confidence in Air India has nosedived, the thrust to pull up the Airlines now needs to reach astronomical proportions, the flaps around the safety features of Air India is fully down, the landing gear is stuck making it increasingly difficult to take the Airlines into a safe zone. The Dreamliner-catastrophe has pulled Air India down in the drag of around 30 seconds of a three-year revival journey.

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