Air India fleet

As of October 2023, Air India operates a fleet of both narrowbody and widebody aircraft with a fleet composed of Airbus A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo as well as Boeing 777 and Boeing 787, making for a total of 122 aircraft.[1]

Current fleet

As of October 2023, Air India operates the following aircraft:[2]

Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
F C W Y Total Refs
Airbus A319-100 18 — — 8 — 114 122 [3]
— 144 144 [4]
Airbus A320-200 9 — — 12 — 138 150 [5]
— 168 168
Airbus A320neo 28 160 — 12 — 150 162 One aircraft painted in Star Alliance livery.
Airbus A321-200 14 — — 12 — 170 182 [6]
Airbus A321neo 4 70 — 12 — 180 192 [7]
Airbus A350-900 — 6 — 28 24 264 316 Deliveries from late 2023.[8]
Airbus A350-1000 — 34 TBA Deliveries from 2025.[9][10]
Order with 10 options.[11]
Boeing 737 MAX 8 — 140 Order with 50 options.[12][13] 50 737 MAX 8 transferred to Air India Express.[14]
Boeing 737 MAX 10 —
Boeing 777-200LR 3 — 8 35 — 195 238 [15] To be retired by March 2024.[16]
5 — — 28 48 212 288 Leased with Delta One and Comfort+ product.[8]
Boeing 777-300ER 13 — 4 35 — 303 342 [17] To be refurbished with new interiors consisting of Premium Economy & onboard Wi-Fi from mid-2024.[18][19]
One painted in Star Alliance livery.
One painted in Celebrating India livery.
2 4 8 40 — 280 328 6 ex-Etihad Airways aircraft to be leased.[20]
— 3 4 48 28 184 264 3 ex-Singapore Airlines aircraft to be leased.[16][21]
Boeing 777-9 — 10 TBA [13]
Boeing 787-8 27 — — 18 — 238 256 [22] To be refurbished with new interiors consisting of Premium Economy & onboard Wi-Fi from mid-2024.[19]
One painted in Star Alliance livery.
Boeing 787-9 — 20 TBA Deliveries from 2025
Order with 20 options.[13]
Total 123 447

Former fleet
Air India Airbus A330-200
Air India Airbus A310-300
Air India Boeing 767-300ER
Boeing 707 in 1976
Air India Lockheed Super Constellation in 1961 at Prague Ruzyně Airport
Air India Douglas DC-3 at Heathrow Airport in 1958
Air India Boeing 747-400
Air India Boeing 747-200
Past aircraft operated by Air India[2][23]
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Replacement Notes
Airbus A300B4-100 1 1994 1994 Airbus A321
Airbus A300B4-200 4 1982 2002 Airbus A321
Airbus A310-300 24 1986 2016 Boeing 787-8
4 Converted into freighters and used by Air India Cargo
Airbus A319-100 1 2009 2021 Airbus A320neo Transferred to DRDO as a testbed aircraft.[24]
Airbus A321-200 6 2007 2022 Airbus A321neo Six to be converted into AEW&C for the Indian Air Force.[24]
Airbus A330-200 2 2008 2015 Boeing 787-8 Leased
Boeing 707-320B 3 1962 1989 Boeing 747-200
Boeing 707-320C 4 1964 1990 Boeing 747-200
Boeing 707-420 4 1960 1984 Boeing 747-200
1 1966 None Crashed as flight AI101
1 1982 Crashed as flight AI403
Boeing 737-200 5 2007 2011 Airbus A320
Boeing 747-100 2 1970 1971 Boeing 747-200B
Boeing 747-200B 10 1971 2005 Boeing 747-400
1 1978 None Crashed as flight AI855
1 1985 Destroyed by a bomb as flight AI182
Boeing 747-200C 1 1971 2005 Boeing 747-400
Boeing 747-300 1 2005 2007 Boeing 777-300ER
Boeing 747-300M 2 1988 2008 Boeing 777-300ER
Boeing 747-400M 1 2005 2008 Boeing 777-300ER
Boeing 747-400 8 1993 2022 None Deregistered in April 2022.[25][26]
Boeing 757-200 1 2007 2007 None Leased from Golden International Airlines
Boeing 767-300ER 2 2006 2008 None Leased from Flyglobespan
1 2007 2007 Leased from EuroAtlantic Airways
Boeing 777-200 1 2006 2010 Boeing 777-300ER
Boeing 777-200ER 3 2005 2011 Boeing 777-300ER
Boeing 777-200LR 5 2008 2013 None Sold to Etihad Airways due to Financial Crunch
De Havilland Comet Un­known 1950s 1950s None
De Havilland Dragon Rapide Un­known 1930s 1940s None
De Havilland Fox Moth Un­known 1930s 1930s None
De Havilland Puss Moth Un­known 1929 1932 None
Douglas DC-2 Un­known 1934 1940 Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3 Un­known 1936 1970s Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4 Un­known 1948 Unknown None
Douglas DC-8-60F Un­known 1977 1988 Boeing 747-200
Douglas DC-8-70F Un­known 1983 1995 Boeing 747-200
Ilyushin Il-62M Un­known 1989 1990 Airbus A310
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 5 1995 1996 Boeing 747-400
Lockheed L-749 Constellation Un­known 1951 1972 None
1 1950 Crashed as flight AI245
1 1955 Destroyed by a bomb as flight AI300
Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation Un­known 1956 1970s None
Percival Petrel Un­known 1930s 1930s None
Vickers VC.1 Viking Un­known 1947 1960s none
Waco YQC-6 Un­known 1939 Unknown None

Fleet development

Fleet information

In 1932, Air India started operations with a de Havilland Puss Moth. On 21 February 1960, it inducted its first Boeing 707-420 named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), thereby becoming the first Asian airline to induct a jet aircraft in its fleet and on 4 August 1993, Air India took the delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 named Konark (registered VT-ESM). Apart from Boeing aircraft, Air India also operates a wide range of Airbus aircraft. In 1989, Indian Airlines introduced the Airbus A320-200 aircraft, which Air India now uses to operate both domestic and international short-haul flights. In 2005, Indian Airlines introduced smaller A319s, which are now used mainly on domestic and regional routes. After the merger in 2007, Air India inducted the biggest member of the A320 family, the A321, to operate mainly on international short-haul and medium-haul routes. At the same time, Air India leased Airbus A330s to operate on medium-long haul international routes while awaiting deliveries of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Currently, Air India has many narrowbody aircraft for domestic destinations like A320, A321 and A320neo. Air India has also many widebody aircraft like Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-300ER, and Boeing 787-8 mainly for international destinations. Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India has a fleet of 25 Boeing 737-800. On 17 June 2019, Air India grounded its last Airbus A320 classic fleet, which flew its last flight from Delhi to Mumbai.

Fleet restructuring

As part of a financial restructuring, Air India sold five of its eight Boeing 777-200LR aircraft to Etihad Airways in December 2013. According to the airline, plans for introducing ultra-long flights with service to Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles were cancelled due to factors like high fuel prices and weak demand. Air India eventually resumed flights to San Francisco alongside other international destinations. On 24 April 2014, Air India issued a tender for leasing 14 Airbus A320 aircraft for up to six years, to strengthen its domestic network. Air India has purchased many Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners to strengthen international operations.

As part of fleet restructuring, Air India unveiled its new logo, livery and branding on 10 August 2023.[27]

Post-privatization

In December 2022, a day after the announcement of the merger of Air India and Vistara, it was reported that Tata Sons were set to buy around 500 jets from Airbus and Boeing which would cost around US$100 billion. The order reportedly included around 400 narrow-body aircraft and around 100 wide-body aircraft including Airbus A350, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787. After if finalised, it would be the biggest ever deal at once by a single airline, surpassing the deal of 460 jets by American Airlines with Airbus and Boeing.[28][29]

Later, the airline announced it would be leasing 36 aircraft which consisted of 21 A320neo, 4 A321neo, 5 ex-Delta 777-200LR, 3 ex-Singapore Airlines 777-300ER and 6 ex-Etihad 777-300ER. Reports indicated that these leases were interim measures until the airline places the new order and takes delivery of those planes.[30]

Following months of negotiation and delays, on 14 February 2023, Air India announced an order for 470 aircraft with Airbus and Boeing. The order consists of 210 A320neo family aircraft, 40 A350, 190 737 MAX, 20 787-9 and 10 777-9 aircraft with deliveries beginning late 2023.[9][13]

On 26 March 2023, Air India took delivery of their first Airbus A321neo.[31]

References
  1. "Fleet Details". Air India. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  2. "Air India Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. "Airbus 319 (Mixed Configuration)". Air India. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022.
  4. "Airbus 319 (Single Configuration)". Air India. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022.
  5. "A320-214 CEO (Mixed configuration)". Air India. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022.
  6. "Air India Airbus A321". Air India. 30 August 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022.
  7. "Air India Begins A321neo Scheduled Service From June 2023". AeroRoutes. 12 June 2023. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  8. "Tata-Owned Air India To Induct 30 Planes Over Next 15 Months". NDTV. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  9. "Tata-owned Air India to acquire 250 Airbus aircraft". Airbus (Press release). 14 February 2023.
  10. Bailey, Joanna (14 February 2023). "Why The Airbus A350 Will Be The Flagship Of Air India's Fleet". Simple Flying. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  11. "Rolls-Royce announces biggest ever order of Trent XWB-97 engines as Air India signs MOU for 68 (plus 20 options) and 12 Trent XWB-84 engines". Rolls Royce (Press release). 14 February 2023.
  12. Schroeder, Robert. "Boeing to sell Air India more than 200 planes, Biden announces". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  13. "Air India Selects Up to 290 Boeing Jets to Serve Its Strategy for Sustainable Growth" (Press release). Boeing. 14 February 2023.
  14. "Merged Air India Express to add fifty B737 MAX - report". ch-aviation. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  15. "Air India Boeing 777-200LR". Air India. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022.
  16. "Air India to lease three 777-300 ER from Singapore Airlines". The Economic Times. 22 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  17. "Air India Boeing 777-300ER (77W)". Air India. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022.
  18. "Air India plans to refurbish legacy wide-body fleet". 8 December 2022. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  19. "Onboard WiFi & brand new interiors on Air India planes soon". The Times of India. 29 May 2023. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  20. "Air India leases 6 more aircraft to enhance operations: Induction of aircraft in the first half of 2023, 36 aircraft leased so far to boost connectivity on domestic, international routes" (PDF). Air India. 7 December 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  21. "'One-third of AI wide body fleet to be new by next March; then existing planes' cabin to be revamped'". The Times of India. 21 July 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 21 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  22. "Air India B787-8 Configuration" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  23. "Air India : The story of the aircraft". Airwhiners.net. Archived from the original on 11 August 2004. Retrieved 26 July 2004.
  24. "Gov't to convert six Air India jets for AEW&C missions". Ch-Aviation. 19 December 2020. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  25. Naik, Yogesh (29 April 2022). "End of an era as 4 Air India Boeing 747s are deregistered". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  26. "Air India Boeing 747-437". Star Alliance. 2022. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  27. "Air India unveils new logo, branding and plane livery". The Times of India. 10 August 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  28. "Tata's Air India to buy Airbus, Boeing 500 jets in $100+ billion deal: Report". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
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  30. "Expansion mode: Air India to lease 36 new planes, almost 30 of its grounded aircraft to fly again soon". The Times of India. 5 December 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 21 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
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