New Delhi, Sept. 28 -- Aboard a rival IndiGo flight bound for Bengaluru from Nagpur sat Tewolde Gebremariam, freshly summoned to resurrect Air India. Beside him travelled Campbell Wilson, the departing chief. When their shared photograph swept the internet, the irony was unmistakable: neither Air India nor Air India Express (AIX)-the two Tata Group-owned airlines-flew that route. Yet behind this quiet embarrassment lurked a far starker fiscal drama.

AIX, the group's low-cost carrier, is increasingly central to Tata's growth plans even as its finances remain stretched relative to the size of its business. The two airlines, along with their joint ventures and subsidiaries, generated about Rs.71,870 crore of revenue in 2025-26 and recorded ...