Air India, which has been on a transformational journey ever since the Tata Group took over the airline, has taken delivery of its first and also India’s first Airbus A350 aircraft. This marks the start of a new chapter at Air India as the arrival of these aircraft will enable the airline to expand its international network.
Finally!
Aviation Geeks in India (and around the world) have probably been waiting for this day for a very long time. Air India’s first A350 is finally here! The carrier has taken delivery of its first A350-900 aircraft, registered VT-JRA, probably honouring the father of Indian aviation, Mr. JRD Tata.
The aircraft arrived today in the afternoon at 13:46 IST at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Air India says that it will take 3 to 4 weeks to complete extensive checks and approvals, before operating domestic flights for crew familiarisation by end of January 2024. The airline says that around 50 engineers have already been trained and are in process of getting the license to approve checks on this aircraft type.
By March or April 2024, another five A350-900s will be delivered to Air India. All six of these are ex-Aeroflot frames which were never delivered to the Russian airline due to sanctions in place. All six aircraft will be in service by May 2024.
Air India says that Airbus is in touch with the airline for entry into service. It is also working to get approvals for creating manuals for operations, engineering, ground handling and ensuring availability of spares.
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Many firsts!
The arrival of Air India’s first A350 brings with it many firsts for Air India and Indian aviation. These are:
- This is the first Airbus A350 aircraft for Air India
- This is also the first A350 aircraft for any Indian airline
- This marks the re-entry of Airbus in the wide-body aircraft market in India
- This is the first aircraft to arrive with the new livery of Air India
- This is the first aircraft from Air India’s mega order of 470 aircraft
The arrival of A350 is surely bringing happiness across the aviation community in India and around the world. The big question that remains to be answered is on which international route will the A350-900 first be deployed? Will it be based in Mumbai or Delhi? Will it operate flights to Europe, North America, East Asia or Australia? All of this remains to be seen.
However, one thing is for sure. The A350s will mark the start of a new passenger experience at Air India (hopefully, an enhanced one).
Featured image by JetPhotos
What do you think of Air India’s first A350 finally arriving in India? Are you excited to fly this aircraft? Let me know in the comments section below.
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One reply on “Air India takes delivery of India’s first Airbus A350 aircraft”
[…] India will showcase its first and only Airbus A350 aircraft (for now), registered VT-JRA, of which it took delivery late last month, at Wings India 2024 in Hyderabad from 18th to 21st January […]