Air India buys six Boeing 777s after over seven years: Report

The airline’s transfer comes in opposition to the backdrop of provide chain constraints delaying deliveries in addition to refurbishment works of its legacy wide-body planes.

The loss-making airline, acquired by the Tata Group in January 2022, is present process an formidable five-year transformation plan, and is increasing its fleet in addition to community amid rising air site visitors demand. Its USD 400 million retrofit programme for 67 wide-body and narrow-body planes can also be in progress.

The sources instructed PTI that Air India has purchased the six Boeing 777-300 ER plane that have been being operated on lease. These planes have been earlier operated by Etihad Airways.

The acquisition of those planes, having an prolonged vary and deployed for long-haul and ultra-long-haul flights, was accomplished just lately by way of the airline’s wholly-owned subsidiary AI Fleet Providers Ltd (AIFS) situated within the Worldwide Monetary Providers Centre in GIFT Metropolis, Gujarat.

Additional, the sources mentioned the lease interval of those planes was to finish by subsequent 12 months, after which, the lessor would have taken again the plane. With a view to guarantee there’s sufficient capability, the airline determined to amass the planes, they added.

Monetary particulars couldn’t be instantly ascertained.

An Air India spokesperson didn’t provide feedback on the deal.

The six leased Boeing 777-300 ER planes began becoming a member of Air India fleet in 2023.

These plane have a four-class configuration of First, Enterprise, Premium Financial system and Financial system seats.

That is the primary time in additional than seven years that Air India has bought Boeing 777 planes. Again in 2018, the airline, then owned by the federal government, had taken supply of its final B777 plane as a part of an order introduced in April 2005.

Since Tata Group began piloting Air India, the airline has positioned orders for 570 new plane.

The airline has 67 legacy wide-body and narrow-body planes — 13 B777-300 ERs and 27 B787s. The primary of the legacy B787 is about to go for retrofit in June whereas the refit of all of the 27 legacy A320 neo plane is anticipated to be accomplished by the third quarter of this 12 months.

Air India has 198 planes, of which 106 provide new or upgraded cabin interiors.

“What this implies is refurbishing previous plane in our fleet to put in new seats in a three-class cabin configuration, carpets, curtains, bathrooms, and extra, together with a recent coat of paint, new livery – all within the new Air India branding,” the airline mentioned in a launch on April 30.

On March 18, Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson talked concerning the provide scenario and mentioned there are pinch factors all over the place, akin to there aren’t any engines for some narrow-body plane, there are points with seat suppliers in addition to availability of parts and components of fuselage.

“Actuality is that it will stay a supply-constrained market, not only for Air India, India, (I’m) speaking about worldwide… for an additional 4-5 years,” Wilson had mentioned.

At the moment, he had mentioned, “We’re victims of the circumstances as is each different airline”.

“In case you are capability constrained, it’s a must to be a little bit bit ruthless with respect to the place you deploy your plane to maximise the returns. It means you’ll be able to’t broaden to locations that you simply in any other case want to broaden. It’s not so much that you are able to do past that.

“We will attempt to lease plane from the exterior market, however each different airline is attempting to do it. Getting one or two plane which have a unique configuration from the remainder of the fleet provides to the complexity slightly than advancing you. It’s a very vital problem for the trade as an entire,” Wilson mentioned on March 18.