- Air India is set to increase its widebody fleet by 30% with the addition of new Airbus A350-900 aircraft, leased B777-200LR planes, and B777-300ER aircraft, as part of its transformation program called Vihaan.AI.
- The airline aims to secure around 20% of the cargo market share in the next 2-3 years by utilizing its enhanced widebody fleet capacity and reportedly establishing direct channels with big exporters.
- Air India is also working on refurbishing its aircraft interiors, with one-third of the widebody fleet set to feature modern seats and inflight entertainment systems by March 2024.
Air India’s current fleet enhancement is unlike anything the carrier has seen in the last several years. The airline will not only welcome additional widebody planes in the next few months but will also fix the interiors of nearly one-third of them as well as look to increase its cargo share due to the added capacity. Let’s look at some of these plans in detail.
30% increase in widebody fleet
Air India’s widebody fleet will be significantly bigger by March 2024. The airline will take deliveries of six new Airbus A350-900 aircraft as part of its deal signed earlier this year. Indian aviation regulator, the DGCA, recently issued the Letter of Type Acceptance for the Rolls-Royce-powered A350s, paving the way for these planes to be inducted into the airline’s fleet.
The A350s will be joined by five leased B777-200LR planes and nine B777-300ER aircraft by the end of the next financial year, expanding the carrier’s long-haul fleet by 30%. All of this is part of Air India’s massive transformation program called Vihaan.AI, which began last year. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson commented,
Another key segment that Air India is eyeing is the cargo sector in the country, and its widebody fleet is expected to play an important role in it. A report by Mint says that the airline wants to secure around 20% of the cargo market share in the next 2-3 years and is looking forward to increased capacity through its expanding widebody fleet. Mint quotes an official aware of the development as saying,There is a change of strategy in line with the expanding fleet of wide-body aircraft. The airline is looking to establish direct channels. Discussions are taking place with big exporters as well. Electronics is one sector where there is potential and preliminary talks have taken place with companies along with telecom and pharmaceuticals.”
