Air India fleet revamp: Airline takes first custom-made Dreamliner post-privatisation; wide-body induction gathers pace

Air India has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner since returning to private ownership, signalling steady progress in the Tata Group-led overhaul of the airline’s long-haul fleet, PTI reported citing an official.The aircraft, handed over at Boeing’s Everett facility in Seattle on January 7, is the first “line fit” Dreamliner built specifically for Air India after its acquisition by the Tata Group in January 2022. Line fit aircraft are manufactured with airline-specific cabin layouts and configurations.Following mandatory inspections by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aircraft is expected to be flown to India in the coming days, the official added.This delivery is significant as it marks Air India’s first new wide-body aircraft induction under private ownership and forms part of the airline’s large aircraft order placed in 2023. The Dreamliner is the 52nd aircraft to be delivered from Air India’s Boeing order of 220 jets.The Boeing 787-9 features a three-class cabin configuration comprising business class, premium economy and economy seating. The last time Air India inducted a line fit Dreamliner was in October 2017, when the airline was still government-owned.Air India Express, the group’s low-cost arm, has already inducted 51 Boeing 737-8 narrow-body aircraft, including its first line fit plane, which joined the fleet in late December.Since the Tata takeover, Air India has placed orders for 350 Airbus aircraft and 220 Boeing aircraft. Of the Airbus order, six A350 wide-body jets are already operational with Air India.The airline also operates 26 Boeing 787-8 aircraft and six Boeing 787-9 aircraft inherited from erstwhile Vistara, which has since been merged with Air India.At the group level, Air India currently operates a fleet of over 300 aircraft, including 185 with Air India and the remainder with Air India Express. The official said around a dozen older Dreamliners undergoing cabin upgrades are expected to return to active service by 2026.In November last year, Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said the Air India Group plans to induct 26 additional wide-body and narrow-body aircraft and aims to operate 81% of its international flights using upgraded aircraft by the end of 2026.