Air India fleet
As of November 2024[update], Air India operates a fleet of both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft with a fleet consisting of Airbus A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, A350 as well as the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787, making for a total of 208 aircraft.[1]
Fleet development
[edit]In 1932, Air India started operations with the De Havilland Puss Moth aircraft. On 21 February 1960, Air India International inducted its first Boeing 707 named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), thereby becoming the first Asian airline to induct a jet aircraft in its fleet.[2][3] In 1971, the airline took delivery of its first wide-body aircraft, a Boeing 747-200B named Emperor Ashoka (registered VT-EBD).[4] In 1986, Air India introduced its first Airbus aircraft, an Airbus A310-300.[5] On 4 August 1993, Air India took the delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 named Konark (registered VT-ESM).[6][unreliable source][7] Indian Airlines introduced the Airbus A320 family of aircraft in 1989 and the smaller Airbus A319s in 2005, which are now used by Air India on domestic and regional routes, respectively.[5] On 11 January 2006, Air India announced an order for 68 jets – 8 Boeing 777-200LR, 15 Boeing 777-300ER, 18 Boeing 737-800 and 27 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. The eighteen Boeing 737s ordered were later transferred to Air India Express when Air India took delivery of the Dreamliners.[8] After the merger with Indian Airlines in 2007, Air India inducted the Airbus A321 in its fleet to operate mainly on short-haul international routes and leased the Airbus A330s to operate on medium-haul international routes.
The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on 26 July 2007, which was named Andhra Pradesh, and the first Boeing 777-300ER on 9 October 2007, which was named as Bihar.[9][unreliable source] The carrier sold three Airbus A300 and one Boeing 747 in March 2009 for US$18.75 million, due to debts.[10] It also sold five of its eight Boeing 777-200LR aircraft to Etihad Airways in December 2013.[11] Air India received its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on 6 September 2012, commencing flights on 19 September 2012, which along with 777s, have since replaced the aging and fuel-inefficient 747s in the fleet of international routes.[12] On 21 April 2014, Air India decided to sell its remaining three Boeing 777-200LRs as well, citing higher operating costs.[13] On 24 April 2014, Air India issued a tender for leasing 14 Airbus A320 aircraft for up to six years, to strengthen its domestic network.[14]
Many years later, in December 2022, a day after the merger announcement with Vistara, it was reported that Air India would order nearly five hundred new aircraft.[15][16] On 14 February 2023, Air India announced an order for 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing consisting of 210 A320neo family, 40 A350, 190 737 MAX for Air India Express, 20 787-9 and 10 777-9 aircraft at a cost of US$70 billion, with deliveries beginning in late 2023.[17] The airline announced that it would be leasing 36 aircraft, 25 narrow-body aircraft and 11 wide-body aircraft, till the delivery of the newly ordered planes.[18] On 26 March 2023, Air India took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo, albeit a leased one.[19] As part of its fleet restructuring, Air India unveiled its new logo, livery and branding on 10 August 2023 and received its first re-branded aircraft, an Airbus A350-900, on 23 December 2023.[20][21] On 22 April 2024, Air India sold four Boeing 747 aircraft to the US company AerSale, which will convert two into freighters and scrap the other two.[22]
Air India has planned a $400 million refit program for its legacy aircraft fleet. On 16 September 2024, the first phase of the refit began in which 27 older A320neo and 40 Boeing widebody aircraft will be retrofitted with new seats, cabin and livery. VT-EXN, an A320neo, has been parked in a hangar and will be the first to be retrofitted. The aircraft will be delivered and enter service in December 2024 after its prototyping phase and certification. The rest of the 27 narrowbody aircraft's upgradation and modernisation will continue at the rate of 3 to 4 aircraft per month. The upgrade of the narrowbodies is set to be completed by mid-2025.[23][24]
On 12 November 2024, with the merger of Vistara and Air India, all of Vistara's 70 aircraft were transferred to Air India.[25]
Current fleet
[edit]As of November 2024[update], Air India operates the following aircraft:[26][unreliable source][27][a]
Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Refs | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F | C | W | Y | Total | |||||
Airbus A319-100 | 6 | — | — | 8 | — | 114 | 122 | [28] | To be retired and replaced with Airbus A320neo[29] |
Airbus A320-200 | 4 | — | — | 12 | — | 138 | 150 | [30] | |
3 | — | 180 | 180 | 18 single-class A320 and A320neo being transferred to Air India Express[31][32] | |||||
Airbus A320neo | 51 | 90[33] | — | 8 | 24 | 132 | 164 | [34][35] | 6 to be leased[36] |
27 | 12 | — | 150 | 162 | Being refurbished with a three-class configuration[23] | ||||
16 | — | 180 | 180 | [37] | 18 single-class A320 and A320neo being transferred to Air India Express[31][32] | ||||
7 | 186 | 186 | |||||||
Airbus A321-200 | 13 | — | — | 12 | — | 170 | 182 | [38] | |
Airbus A321LR | 4 | — | — | 12 | 24 | 152 | 188 | [39] | |
Airbus A321neo | 6 | 195[33] | — | 12 | 24 | 152 | 188 | [40] | |
2 | 12 | — | 180 | 192 | [41] | ||||
2 | — | 232 | 232 | ||||||
Airbus A350-900 | 6 | 19[33] | — | 28 | 24 | 264 | 316 | [42] | 6 taken from an Aeroflot order, retaining interior configuration[43] |
Airbus A350-1000 | — | 25[33] | TBA | Order with 5 options[44][33] | |||||
Boeing 777-200LR | 3 | — | 8 | 35 | — | 195 | 238 | [45] | To be refurbished from 2025[23][46] |
5 | — | 28 | 48 | 212 | 288 | Former Delta Air Lines aircraft | |||
Boeing 777-300ER | 13 | — | 4 | 35 | — | 303 | 342 | [47] | To be refurbished with a four-class configuration from 2025[23][48] |
6 | 8 | 40 | 280 | 328 | Former Etihad Airways aircraft | ||||
Boeing 777-9 | — | 10 | TBA | [49] | |||||
Boeing 787-8 | 23 | — | — | 18 | — | 238 | 256 | [50] | To be refurbished from 2025[23] |
4 | 241 | 259 | |||||||
Boeing 787-9 | 6 | 20 | — | 30 | 21 | 248 | 299 | [51] | Order with 20 options[49] |
1 | 36 | 226 | 292 | [52] | |||||
Total | 208 | 359 |
Special Liveries
[edit]Aircraft | Aircraft Registration | Livery |
---|---|---|
Airbus A319-100 | VT-SCS | Mahatma Gandhi 150th Anniversary[53] |
Airbus A320neo | VT-ATV | Tata SIA Airlines retro[54] |
VT-CIO | Mahatma Gandhi 150th Anniversary[55] | |
VT-EXO | Star Alliance[56] | |
Boeing 777-200LR | VT-ALG | Mahatma Gandhi 150th Anniversary[57] |
Boeing 777-300ER | VT-ALJ | Star Alliance[58][59] |
VT-ALN | Celebrating India[60] | |
VT-ALT | Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav[61] | |
Boeing 787-8 | VT-ANC | Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav[62] |
VT-ANP | Mahatma Gandhi 150th Anniversary[63] | |
VT-ANQ | Guru Nanak 550 Years Celebration[64] | |
VT-ANU | Star Alliance[65] |
Former fleet
[edit]Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Replacement | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Airbus A300B4-100 | 1 | 1994 | 1994 | Airbus A321 | ||
Airbus A300B4-200 | 3 | 1982 | 2002 | Airbus A321 | ||
Airbus A310-300 | 28 | 1986 | 2016 | Boeing 787-8 | Some converted to Cargo use for Air India Cargo. | |
Airbus A319-100 | 17 | 2009 | 2024 | Airbus A320neo | ||
1 | 2021 | Transferred to DRDO as a testbed aircraft[67] | ||||
Airbus A320-200 | 38 | 2007 | 2019 | Airbus A320neo | ||
2 | 2015 | 2024 | Transferred to Air India Express | |||
Airbus A321-200 | 1 | 2007 | 2019 | Airbus A321neo | ||
6 | 2022 | To be converted into AEW&C for the Indian Air Force[67] | ||||
Airbus A330-200 | 2 | 2008 | 2015 | Boeing 787-8 | ||
Boeing 707-300B | 3 | 1962 | 1989 | Boeing 747-200 Boeing 747-300M |
||
Boeing 707-300C | 2 | 1964 | 1990 | Boeing 747-200 Boeing 747-300M |
||
Boeing 707-400 | 4 | 1960 | 1984 | Boeing 747-200 | ||
1 | 1966 | None | Crashed as Flight AI101 | |||
1 | 1982 | Crashed as Flight AI403 | ||||
Boeing 737-200 | 5 | 2007 | 2011 | Airbus A320 | ||
Boeing 747-200B | 9 | 1971 | 2004 | Boeing 747-400 Boeing 777-200 Boeing 777-200ER |
VT-EGC forward fuselage preserved at Thakur Polytechnic, Mumbai[68] Some converted to Cargo use for Air India Cargo. | |
1 | 1978 | None | Crashed as Flight AI855 | |||
1 | 1985 | Destroyed by a bomb as Flight AI182 | ||||
1 | 1987 | 1988 | Boeing 747-300M | |||
Boeing 747-300 | 1 | 2005 | 2007 | Boeing 777-300ER | Leased from Air Atlanta Icelandic | |
Boeing 747-300M | 2 | 1988 | 2008 | Boeing 777-300ER | VT-EPX (nicknamed Narasimha Varman) scrapped at Kemble Airfield in 2009 after being sold due to financial crunch.[69] VT-EPW(nicknamed Shivaji) broken up at BOM in 2011 after being in storage.[70] | |
Boeing 747-400M | 1 | 2005 | 2008 | Boeing 777-300ER | Purchased used from Air Canada, sold to Dubai Royal Air Wing | |
Boeing 747-400 | 13 | 1993 | 2024 | Airbus A350-900 Boeing 777-200LR Boeing 777-300ER Boeing 777-9 |
Last 4 stored and deregistered in 2022, sold to AerSale in April 2024, which will convert 2 into freighters and scrap the other 2(VT-EVA stored at ROW).[71] VT-ESM scrapped in May 2011 at BOM after written off by fire damage.[72] VT-ESN stored in June 2014 and broken up in December 2020 at BOM.[73] 3 leased from Korean Air between 2002 and 2006. 3 used aircraft purchased from Singapore Airlines, 1 from Malaysia Airlines and used between 2004 and 2008. | |
Boeing 757-200 | 1 | 2007 | 2007 | None | ||
Boeing 767-300ER | 2 | 2006 | 2008 | None | ||
1 | 2007 | 2007 | ||||
Boeing 777-200 | 1 | 2006 | 2010 | Boeing 777-200LR Boeing 777-300ER |
Leased from United | |
Boeing 777-200ER | 3 | 2005 | 2011 | Boeing 777-200LR Boeing 777-300ER |
Leased from United | |
Boeing 777-200LR | 5 | 2008 | 2014 | None | Sold to Etihad Airways | |
De Havilland Comet | Unknown | 1950s | 1950s | None | ||
De Havilland Dragon Rapide | Unknown | 1930s | 1940s | None | ||
De Havilland Fox Moth | Unknown | 1930s | 1930s | None | ||
De Havilland Puss Moth | Unknown | 1929 | 1932 | None | ||
Douglas DC-2 | 15 | 1934 | 1940 | Douglas DC-3 | ||
Douglas DC-3 | Unknown | 1936 | 1970s | Douglas DC-4 | ||
Douglas DC-4 | Unknown | 1948 | Unknown | None | ||
Douglas DC-8-60F | 15 | 1977 | 1988 | Boeing 747-200 | ||
Douglas DC-8-70F | 1983 | 1995 | Boeing 747-200 | |||
Ilyushin Il-62M | Unknown | 1989 | 1990 | Airbus A310 | ||
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar | 5 | 1995 | 1996 | Boeing 747-400 | ||
Lockheed L-749 Constellation | 4 | 1951 | 1972 | None | ||
1 | 1950 | Crashed as Flight AI245 | ||||
1 | 1955 | Destroyed by a bomb as Flight AI300 | ||||
Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation | 10 | 1956 | 1970s | None | ||
Percival Petrel | Unknown | 1930s | 1930s | None | ||
Vickers VC.1 Viking | 9 | 1947 | 1960s | None | ||
Waco YQC-6 | Unknown | 1939 | Unknown | None |
Notes
[edit]- ^ As per official website, the fleet count is 128. As the official website does not give the split by aircraft type, other sources have been used for the section, which differs from the count given in the official website
References
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