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Marking the beginning of one of Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran’s core aims to upgrade and modernise the Air India fleet, the airline has signed lease agreements to induct 30 new aircraft to boost domestic and international operations over the next 15 months, according to an official statement. The carrier said it will bring in 21 Airbus A320neo planes, four Airbus A321neo planes and five Boeing 777-200LR wide-bodied planes progressively from December.
The wide-bodied planes will have a Premium Economy offering — a product Air India will offer for the first time. Premium Economy is currently offered in India by Tata-Singapore Airlines joint-venture airline Vistara.
The last time Air India had expanded its fleet was in 2016, when it leased 14 Airbus A320neo aircraft. This was preceded by an order to purchase 111 Airbus narrow-bodied planes and Boeing wide-bodied planes in 2006-07.
“These new aircraft, which will enter service from late 2022, will increase the airline’s fleet by over 25 per cent. Not counting the 10 long-grounded narrow-body and six wide-body aircraft that have been returned to service in recent months, these new aircraft mark the first major fleet expansion since Air India’s acquisition by the Tata Group earlier this year,” the statement said.
Currently, Air India has 70 narrow-bodied aircraft, of which 54 are in service, and 43 wide-bodied planes, of which 33 are operational. The grounded planes are expected to return to service early next year, the airline said.
The Boeing 777-200LRs will join the fleet between December 2022 and March 2023, and be deployed on routes from metro cities to the US, Air India said. Mumbai will see the addition of flights to San Francisco as well as to the New York international airports, Newark Liberty and John F Kennedy, while Bengaluru will receive a thrice-a-week service to San Francisco, it added.
The four Airbus A321 aircraft are expected to join the Air India fleet in the first quarter of calendar year 2023, while the 21 A320 planes will be inducted in the second half of 2023. These aircraft will be deployed on domestic sectors as well as to short-haul international destinations.
Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD, Air India, said: “After a long time without significant growth, Air India is delighted to resume expanding its fleet and global footprint. These new aircraft, together with existing aircraft being returned to service, address an immediate need for more capacity and connectivity, and mark a strong step forward. Air India has exciting expansion and renewal plans, of which these new aircraft are just the beginning”.
In his maiden address to Air India employees in February after its acquisition by the Tata Group, Chandrasekaran had said upgrading and modernising the fleet and hospitality was among the core areas where the airline will focus under the new management. “We will upgrade our fleet. We will bring modernity to our fleet. We will bring a new fleet, we will expand our outreach… We will not only increase the number of aircraft that we will have, wide body and narrow body, (but) we will fly to many destinations.”
Air India’s market share in domestic air passenger traffic has steadily dropped over the last 5-6 years, and the expansion of its fleet will give it a chance to add capacity to compete with the likes of IndiGo, Vistara, SpiceJet, AkasaAir and GoFirst. As per latest available official data, Air India had a domestic market share of 8.4 per cent in July. In the same month, IndiGo, Vistara, GoFirst and SpiceJet had market shares of 58.8 per cent, 10.4 per cent, 8.2 per cent and 8.0 per cent, respectively.
