Air India, which is on a transformational journey backed by the Tata Group, will add 30 aircraft to its fleet by March 2024. This will help the airline add capacity in the short-term.
30 aircraft incoming
By March 2024, Air India will add 30 aircraft to its fleet. The breakup is as follows:
- 6 Airbus A350-900s
- 4 Boeing B777-300ERs
- 20 Airbus A320neo
The B777s and A320s are those that Air India leased while the A350s are part of the historic mega-order placed by Air India earlier this year.
Air India currently has a fleet of around 120 aircraft. The airline operates approximately 2,900 flights every week. The arrival of these 30 aircraft will help Air India add over 400 weekly flights, 200 each in domestic and international network. On its international route network, the carrier has already added 80 out of 200 weekly flights and plans to add four new international destinations. The airline says that these four new international destinations are in United States, Europe and SouthEast Asia.
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As of 29th October 2023 (which was the first day of the winter schedule), the airline increased weekly frequencies on Mumbai-Singapore, Delhi-Bangkok, Delhi-Dhaka, Delhi-Newark, Delhi-San Francisco, Delhi-Washington D.C, Delhi-Copenhagen, Delhi-Milan and Mumbai-Doha routes.
While modernising our fleet and introducing new products and services is a top priority in Air India’s ongoing transformation journey, we are equally focused on densifying and expanding our route network to capture the rapidly growing demand in the market.
said Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Air India.
The Delhi-based carrier also launched flights on four new international routes:
- Bengaluru-Singapore
- Kochi-Doha
- Kolkata-Bangkok
- Mumbai-Melbourne (launching on 15th December 2023)
Air India will increase its presence on routes from Mumbai and Delhi where demand for premium seats is there. The airline has already vacated three destinations – Surat, Bagdogra and Bhubaneswar – where it does not see the need to have a presence. Instead, Air India has handed over the operations of those destinations to Air India Express.
Featured image by Airbus
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