On Tuesday, 29 October, Air India Express unveiled the renewed appearance of its modified Boeing 737- 8 aircraft. This represents a major milestone in the Tata Group's continuous brand transformation and fleet modernisation. Air India Express’s new cabin interiors reflect its pledge to improve passenger comfort and convenience throughout its growing network.
Collins Aerospace's 180 ergonomically designed leather seats for the new Boeing 737-8 provide increased comfort and support. Every seat has a USB-C charging port, making it simple for travellers to recharge their gadgets while in flight.
Air India stated on X, “Since the launch of the new AIX brand and service philosophy 2 years ago, we continue to elevate the guest experience as we invite flyers across South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East with 500 daily flights across 60 destinations.”
Regarding this, Ajay Awtaney, an aviation and loyalty journalist, posted exclusive pictures of the interior as his content. He shared four pictures with a short review on X, “VT-BWD, the first retrofit @AirIndiaX, Boeing 737-8 aircraft was revealed today at Mumbai. Great interior colour scheme, some very comfortable @CollinsAero, Meridian Seats, 30” seat pitch and 60W fast USB A/C chargers, apart from hot meals for those who book. #paxex”
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What happened?
Now, Ajay Awtaney noticed that another account, WingX Aviation, took his photos without his permission and posted on their X account, as if it were their content. They captioned, “Air India Xpress revealed new retrofitted B737. -New interiors and color scheme-Comfortable seats -USB A/C charging ports”
First, Awtaney reposted the post and said, “Mate, please remove the 3 pictures you picked from my post and confirm.”
Aftermath of the issue
Then, on that post, Awtaney commented, “Since 3 of the 4 images are mine and I have not given you permission to republish and nor is their any credit, would you take them down and confirm immediately please? Thanks.”
One user commented, “The account’s entire content is to copy and repost other people’s work.”
Later, as the page didn’t take down the post, Awtaney reported the page on X, and the post was removed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Section 512 of the DMCA outlines the statutory requirements necessary for formally reporting copyright infringement, as well as providing instructions on how an affected party can appeal a removal by submitting a compliant counter-notice.
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Awtaney concluded his fight, saying, “I asked nicely before going legal,” reposting that X post.
This was a classic battle of a copyright issue.
Ajay Awtaney’s swift legal action under the DMCA serves as a reminder of the importance of respecting digital content ownership. His case highlights the growing accountability for plagiarism in online aviation media.
