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Air India CEO speaks publicly for first time since June

crash

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CEO says aims to fix internal practices

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Air India also hit by geopolitical tensions

By Abhijith Ganapavaram

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Air India's CEO vowed on

Wednesday to improve internal practices after a plane crash in

June killed 260 people, in his first public comments about the

accident that he said would contribute to a "challenging" year

for the airline.

The Tata Group-owned carrier has been facing intense

scrutiny ever since the crash, from warning notices for running

planes without checking emergency equipment to not changing

engine parts in time and forging records, along with other

lapses related to crew fatigue management.

"We're always looking at how we can keep improving," CEO

Campbell Wilson said at an Aviation India event in India's

capital city, speaking publicly for the first time since the

crash of the Boeing Dreamliner in India's Ahmedabad city.

"This year will be quite challenging from a business

perspective ... We're also working with the investigators," he

added.

AIRSPACE CONSTRAINTS

India's air accidents investigating agency published an

interim report earlier this year saying the plane's fuel engine

switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff

just after takeoff.

Air India also faces delayed jet deliveries and airspace

closures due to geopolitical tensions, which have weighed on its

performance as it strives to recover from the crash.

India and Pakistan fought their fiercest military conflict

in decades in May, sparked by an attack on Hindu tourists in

Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people. New Delhi alleged

Islamabad backed the attack, which Pakistan denied.

The two nuclear-armed neighbours have since closed their

airspaces to each other's airlines.

"Airspace constraints are a challenge to on-time

performance," Wilson said.