Air India, India’s leading airline and a Star Alliance member, December 5, 2022 announced the lease of six Airbus A320neo narrow body aircraft and six Boeing B777-300 ER widebody aircraft to further augment its existing fleet.

These aircraft are expected to be inducted in the first half of 2023 and will be deployed on Air India’s short, medium and long-haul international routes. The decision to lease twelve aircraft is in addition to the thirty leased earlier this year including twenty one Airbus A320, four Airbus A321 and five Boeing B777-200LR widebody aircraft. 
 

The Airbus A320neo will be operated on the airline’s domestic/short-to-medium haul international routes. Air India’s B777-300 ER will have four-class configuration of First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy, and will be deployed to connect Indian metro cities with even more international destinations. 
 

The airline’s aggressive expansion plan has already witnessed 19 long-grounded aircraft returning to the skies with 9 more to follow even as the airline has stepped up lease of narrow and wide-body aircraft. As part of the expansion, Air India has raised the frequency of flights between key cities on the domestic sector and has also announced direct flights between Indian cities and key global destinations like Doha, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Birmingham. Further, Air India is set to commence direct flights from Delhi to key European cities like Milan, Vienna and Copenhagen, and from Mumbai to New York, Paris and Frankfurt.
 

Commenting on the lease of the aircraft, Mr. Campbell Wilson, CEO & Managing Director, Air India, said, “Growing our network is an essential part of Air India’s Vihaan.AI transformational journey and we remain committed to increasing connectivity and frequency of flights both domestically and internationally. These additional aircraft leases will support our near term growth even as we finalize plans to refresh and significantly grow our long-term fleet.” 

About Air India:

Founded by the legendary JRD Tata, Air India pioneered India’s aviation sector. Since its first flight on October 15, 1932, Air India has an extensive domestic network and has spread its wings beyond to become a major international airline with a network across USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Far-East, South-East Asia, Australia and the Gulf. Air India is a member of Star Alliance, the largest global airline consortium. After 69 years as a Government-owned enterprise, Air India and Air India Express were welcomed back into the Tata group in January 2022. The present management at Air India is driving the five year transformation roadmap under the aegis of Vihaan.AI to establish itself as a world-class global airline with an Indian heart.