India's national carrier has big shoes to fill... its own

Oh, Air India, how I adored thee. In the 1990s, the Indian national carrier was a favourite. I flew on its big, comfortable jumbo jets many times. Either I was flying to and from India, which was always a thrill, or I was taking advantage of the fifth freedom" routes from London Heathrow to New York JFK and Toronto.

- Simon Calder

Yes, for many years Air India was the carrier of choice across the Atlantic: it had the right to pick up passengers in London and take them, economically, to the main gateways for the US and Canada respectively. The experience was always good value and exotic: for seven hours, you were transported to India, with delicious food, friendly cabin crew and interesting fellow travellers.

Yet ahead of a meeting with Campbell Wilson, chief executive officer and managing director of Air India, my travel records revealed no evidence of flying with his airline this century. I have been to India on multiple occasions in the past two decades, but on airlines such as Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways and even Cathay Pacific (for a time there was a handy Dubai-Mumbai link on the Hong Kong-based airline). And sadly India-US routes now fly over the UK rather than pausing to pick up thrifty travellers.

So, I wondered: what can the new boss offer to tempt me back on board?