This new AI CMD who replaced Jadhav seems to want to do the right thing.

The guy recently declined to renew memberships for AI's CMD and deputy CMD in the Willingdon Club - @ an annual fee of INR 3.5 million each. Sure 7 million is a drop in the bucket but a significant drop. He also says he doesnt mind traveling coach - nice of him.

He's got a good reputation (clean / corruption free / efficient etc).

As for cleaning up unprofitable routes, even more than the staffing, AI's greatest pain point is that as a government owned carrier, they're supposed to fly to places other airlines wouldn't bother flying to.

And they fly / used to fly to several other places for other reasons (some hick backwoods town just because an influential politician got himself pork barrel funding for an airport, GVA & IAD as a tagon to their EWR flight, etc - because indian politicians and bureaucrats fly there for UN meetings etc)

Cutting down on some of those routes would certainly help. As would retiring their older and less fuel efficient birds.