Aircraft to be inducted in first half of 2023 – 42 aircraft leased so far to enhance connectivity on domestic, international routes
NEW DELHI, India’s leading airline and Star Alliance member Air India today announced the leasing of six Airbus A320 Neo narrow body aircraft and six Boeing B777-300 ER wide body aircraft to expand its existing fleet.
These aircraft will be inducted into the fleet in the first half of 2023 and will be deployed on Air India’s short, medium and long-haul international routes. Earlier this year, 21 Airbus, four Airbus A321 and five Boeing B777-200LR wide body aircraft were leased. These 12 planes are in addition to that.
The Airbus A320 Neo will be operated on the airline’s domestic/short-to-medium haul international routes. Air India’s B777-300 ER will have four class configurations namely First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy and will be operated to connect Indian metro cities with more international destinations.
The airline’s aggressive expansion plan has seen 19 long-grounded aircraft inducted into service, with nine more to come, while the airline has increased leasing of narrow- and wide-body aircraft. As part of the expansion, Air India has increased the frequency of flights between key cities on the domestic sector
and announced direct flights between Indian cities and global cities like Doha, San Francisco, Vancouver and Birmingham. Additionally, Air India is set to launch direct flights between Delhi to major European cities like Milan, Vienna, Copenhagen and Mumbai to New York, Paris and Frankfurt.
Commenting on the lease of the aircraft, Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson said, “Expansion of our network is an essential part of Air India’s Vihaan.AI plan and we are committed to increasing the connectivity and frequency of domestic and international flights. These additional aircraft will support our near-term growth. We are finalizing plans to significantly increase our long-term fleet.”
