Air India to induct 30 new aircraft over the next 15 months

Tata-owned Air India has announced that it will induct 25 new Airbus narrow-body and five Boeing wide-body aircraft over the next 15 months. The new aircraft will enter service by late 2022 and will increase the airline’s fleet by over 25 per cent, the airline stated.

The leased air fleet includes 21 Airbus A320neos, four Airbus A321neos and five Boeing B777-200LRs. The B777-200LRs will join the fleet between December 2022 and March 2023, and will be deployed on routes from Indian metro cities to the United States of America. "Mumbai will see the addition of flights to San Francisco as well as to both of the New York area’s international airports, Newark Liberty and John F Kennedy, while Bangalore will receive a 3x weekly service to San Francisco. These aircraft will result in Air India offering Premium Economy haul flights for the first time," Air India said.

The four A321 aircraft are likely to join the fleet in the first quarter of calendar year 2023, while the 21 A320s will be inducted in the second half of 2023 on domestic and short-haul international routes.

Speaking about the fleet expansion, Campbell Wilson, CEO & Managing Director, Air India, said, “After a long time without significant growth, Air India is delighted to resume expanding its fleet and global footprint.  These new aircraft, together with existing aircraft being returned to service, address an immediate need for more capacity and connectivity, and mark a strong step forward.  Air India has exciting expansion and renewal plans, of which these new aircraft are just the beginning.”

At present Air India’s narrow-body fleet stands at 70 aircraft, of which 54 are in service; the remaining 16 aircraft will progressively return to service by early 2023. The wide-body fleet currently stands at 43 aircraft, of which 33 are operational. The rest will return to service by early 2023, Air India mentioned.