Thank you dear subscribers, we are overwhelmed with your response.
Your Turn is a unique section from ThePrint featuring points of view from its subscribers. If you are a subscriber, have a point of view, please send it to us. If not, do subscribe here: https://theprint.in/subscribe/
Boeing, facing scrutiny over delays and quality lapses, could learn from Tata’s transformation of Air India. Rather than chasing short-term gains, Tata applied engineering-led governance, lean operations, and customer-focused innovation to revive a legacy airline. Their long-term, systems-driven approach offers Boeing a roadmap for sustainable reinvention and operational excellence.This playbook is exactly what Boeing needs. And here’s how Tata’s strategy could inspire a new Boeing renaissance.
-
Engineering-Led Governance and Process Integrity
Tata’s emphasis on process discipline, whether in Tata Steel or Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), now powers Air India’s turnaround. Boeing, by contrast, has been criticized for excessive financialization at the cost of engineering integrity. Rather than simply pushing for shareholder value, Tata’s culture demands that quality, safety, and operational resilience are built into every process layer—from sourcing to delivery.
Air India’s recent aircraft deals with Airbus and Boeing were not just bulk purchases; they were strategic decisions based on lifecycle economics, fleet harmonization, and digital cockpit compatibility. Tata engineers were embedded in the evaluation. Likewise, Boeing must re-empower its engineers and manufacturing leadership, moving away from a C-suite culture that sees engineering as overhead. Embracing frameworks like Value Stream Management (VSM) can help Boeing realign its operations with frontline decision-making and real customer outcomes.
-
Customer-Driven Digital Reinvention
Tata understands that modern aviation is driven by data—using AI for customer service, predictive maintenance, and blockchain for loyalty. Boeing should follow suit, building an “Aerospace OS” to leverage its flight data, offering real-time risk and performance dashboards. By partnering with AI and Compliance-as-a-Service platforms like Accure.ai, whose platforms are deployed at Airbus, Boeing can enable smart contracts for warranties and SLAs—bringing real-time trust, automation, and accountability to the aerospace ecosystem.
-
Collaborative Industrial Ecosystems
Tata’s joint ventures in aerospace—from Rolls-Royce engine components to Lockheed Martin fuselage parts—are a template for co-development, not just contract manufacturing. They are turning Nagpur and Hyderabad into aerospace innovation hubs with integrated digital and physical supply chains.
Boeing must go beyond traditional tier-1 suppliers. By investing in multi-tenant, micro data centers hosted at partner sites—like the “nano data centers” of QCT—Boeing can decentralize compute at the edge. This architecture allows AI models to run on turbine health, part fatigue, or fuel efficiency across multiple environments without data leaving the premise.
In essence, Boeing can help build the “Internet of Aviation Assets” by enabling predictive insights not just at the aircraft level but across airports, partners, and government aviation authorities—especially relevant in high-growth markets like India and Southeast Asia.
-
Transparency and Tokenized Value Streams
Tata’s transformation of Air India also includes cultural change—focusing on transparency, metrics, and ownership. Boeing can adopt a similar path through tokenized Value Stream Management Platforms (VSMPs) that track every aircraft delivery milestone, subassembly audit, and vendor interaction. These milestones can be encoded as “proof-of-work” tokens using Hedera or Ripple’s blockchain networks, making compliance visible and incentivized.
This creates a new model of aircraft delivery and performance management: one that turns data into assets, timelines into SLAs, and delays into accountability markers with automated penalties or bonuses.
-
The Big Opportunity: India as a Co-Innovation Partner
Finally, India isn’t just an outsourcing destination—it’s a launchpad for engineering excellence. Tata has proved that with TCS, Jaguar Land Rover, and now Air India. Boeing can co-develop digital twins, AI avionics systems, or quantum-safe flight control protocols with Indian engineers, turning India into not just a market but a digital R&D partner.
This co-innovation could even lead to the emergence of a new aircraft lifecycle paradigm—where design, maintenance, and risk assessment are all managed via a unified digital platform. The result: faster time-to-airworthiness, fewer recalls, and deeper trust.
Conclusion:
Tata’s revival of Air India through systems engineering, AI-led insights, and ethical capitalism presents a roadmap for Boeing. By investing in collaborative ecosystems, adopting AI and blockchain-powered compliance, and turning every value stream into a measurable, tokenized output, Boeing can future-proof its enterprise.
It’s not just about fixing planes. It’s about reengineering trust—and that’s what Tata, with its legacy and vision, has begun to do.
Akshay Sharma is a former Gartner analyst and contributor to both the SWIFT protocol for International Banking and ARINC 629 Databus used in Boeing and Airbus aircraft, for fly-by-wire. He served as CTO for firms supporting the World Bank, India’s DRDO, and Air Force. Now Chief Technology Evangelist for an AI/ML company, he is a board member of Somy Ali’s nonprofit No More Tears, and has over 30 published essays in ThePrint.IN. He draws inspiration from Swami Vivekananda’s teachings.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.