Summary
- Air India’s fleet has grown by 20% in a year, now consisting of 135 aircraft.
- Several changes since 2023 include retiring older Airbus narrowbodies and adding new types like the A350-900 to the fleet.
- Air India’s fleet will continue to expand with a long list of undelivered aircraft, promising upgrades to passenger experience in the future.
In early March 2023, Air India had 113 airframes. A little over a year later and the carrier is 20% larger with 135 aircraft operating for the Indian flag carrier. In this article, we examine the latest composition of the Air India fleet, changes over the past year, and what the carrier will be looking forward to in the future.
The Air India mainline fleet at a glance
Consisting of 135 aircraft, the Air India fleet is as follows:
- A319-100: 10
- A320-200: 9
- A320neo: 42
- A321-200: 13
- A321neo: 4
- A350-900: 3
- 777-200LR: 8
- 777-300ER: 19
- 787-8: 27
All data comes from Planespotters.net and is accurate as of March 16, 2024.
Photo: Air India
It’s clear that the fleet has grown considerably over the past year, despite the airline retiring a few older aircraft. In terms of the current balance between the two big planemakers, the carrier’s airframes are 40% Boeing and 60% Airbus.
Changes since 2023
Since early March 2023, a lot of changes have taken place at Air India. We can see that the airline has phased out a number of its old Airbus narrowbodies. Notably, the airline has eight fewer A319-100s. Additionally, while it hasn’t exactly taken place in the past year, Planespotters.net data shows that many of the older A321-200s have been transferred over to India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation.
In terms of additions, 15 A320neos have been added, while two new types and variants have also joined the fleet: There are now three A350-900s and four A321neos. Interestingly, some older aircraft types have also been added. The airline took delivery of five Boeing 777-200LRs through late 2022 and mid-2023, as well as six 777-300ERs between mid-2023 and early 2024.
It’s interesting to see that all six 777-300ERs were previously operated by Etihad while all five 777-200LRs were originally flying for Delta Air Lines. For Air India passengers who might be flying long-haul in the near future, it’s worth noting that the airline has mostly kept seating from previous operators of both 777 variants:
- The ex-Etihad 777-300ERs are more premium-heavy, configured with eight first class seats, 40 business class seats, and 280 seats in economy class. All other Air India 777-300ERs are fitted with four first class seats, 35 in business class, and 303 in economy class.
- The ex-Delta 777-200LRs are fitted with 28 business class seats, 48 seats in premium economy, and 212 in economy. The airline retained most of Delta’s configuration but removed eight economy class seats on each aircraft. Nonetheless, the other ‘original’ Air India -200LRs have eight first class seats, 35 in business, and 195 in economy.
Air India’s ‘new’ 777-200LRs
It may be a surprise to some that these ex-Delta jets have ended up at Air India, as they were (and apparently still are) destined to become freighters. Indeed, an American firm known as Mammoth Freighters took 10 of Delta’s 777-200LRs, with the goal of converting them into dedicated freighters.
Photo: Mammoth
It appears that Mammoth has decided that selling some of these aircraft would be more profitable in the short term – something that makes sense given reports that air cargo demand had been weakening post-pandemic. As reported by Air Cargo News, Mammoth sold six to US leasing company Jetran. Jetran then temporarily leased five of six airframes to Air India. The report indicates that Air India will operate them until Mammoth takes them for conversion on behalf of DHL.
A350 excitement
Perhaps the highlight of the past year for Air India has been the addition of the A350 to its fleet. All three airframes were originally ordered by Russian carrier Aeroflot but were made undeliverable due to sanctions amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A total of six A350-900s taken by Air India will come from an order initially placed by Aeroflot.
The jet had already been fitted with Aeroflot’s interior and this is something Air India has largely retained with the type’s entry into service. As we reported at the end of 2023, the airline’s A350-900s offer a three-class cabin configuration with 316 seats designed by Collins Aerospace:
- 28 private business class suites with full-flat beds
- 24 premium economy seats
- 264 economy class seats
Runway Girl Network highlights that the airline has done its best to make the Aeroflot seating its own. The website adds that Air France Industries-KLM Engineering & Maintenance is overseeing this soft cabin upgrade. Indeed, in much of the ex-Aeroflot aircraft, Air India has decided to replace the blue seat covers and burnt orange headrest fabric with its own branding and colors. It does appear, however, that the airline has retained Aeroflot’s dark-blue coloring in business class.
Upgrading the inflight experience
The Aeroflot-based interiors on the A350s won’t be long-term. In early February 2024, Air India announced that it had selected German firm RECARO for its new economy and premium class seats on its widebody aircraft, including the Airbus A350, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787.
RECARO stated that 22,000 seats will be fitted onto Air India aircraft in the next five to six years. This will include seats on new aircraft deliveries and the retrofit of in-service jets. The company also noted that Air India has chosen the CL3710 and CL3810 models for its economy class seats, while the P3530 will be used for the premium economy cabin. While variants of each type were not specified, RECARO stated that Air India will retrofit 40 Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft with the CL3710 and PL3530 seats. The same seats will be fitted onto 12 new A350s and 787-9s in 2025.
Photo: RECARO Aircraft Seating
Then, when it comes to the inflight entertainment (IFE) systems, Air India announced that it has selected Thales’ AVANT Up in-flight entertainment system for 51 widebody aircraft: 40 existing aircraft – Boeing 777s and 787s – as well as eleven new planes – 787s and Airbus A350s – will all get the new IFEs. The systems feature Optiq, 4K QLED HDR displays fitted with USB-A and USB-C high-speed charging ports. Bluetooth connectivity on these systems allows passengers to pair their wireless headphones or other devices to the display while simultaneously charging their phones and laptops.
Finally, in terms of passenger experience upgrades, Air India announced that the in-flight content library for some of its Boeing 777 and A350 aircraft will get a boost. Systems will get over 2,200 hours of entertainment content, including 1000 hours of movies, 600 hours of TV, and 600 hours of audio.
More new aircraft coming
We know that the new aircraft added to Air India over the past year is just a fraction of what is yet to be delivered. According to numbers from ch-aviation cross-referenced with figures from Planespotters.net, the airline still has the following aircraft undelivered:
- 127 A320neos
- 150 A321neos
- 20 A350-1000s
- 17 A350-900s
- 50 737 MAX 10s
- 83 737 MAX 8s
- 10 777-9s
- 25 787-9s
Image: Airbus
Three more 777-300ERs are also set to join Air India. These older, pre-owned airframes will come from Singapore Airlines.
Really taking off
When considering all the new aircraft set to join the airline in the next few years, as well as the cabin improvements that will accompany them, it looks like Air India’s fleet will truly rival other full-service carriers around the world.
It will be interesting to see if these investments will translate into greater market share in this highly competitive industry.
What do you think of Air India’s fleet in 2024? Let us know by leaving a comment section.