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- 12 lie flat seats in Business Class, 24 seats in IFE systems have been constant sources of complaints in recent
Premium Economy, and 152 in Economy Class. years. Air India will be investing over US$400m in the complete
All seats are equipped with 4-way adjustable overhaul of its existing cabin interiors, which will result in the
headrests, in-seat power/USB charging ports fitment of new seats and best in-class inflight entertainment
and a state-of-the-art in-flight Entertainment across all classes. Importantly, Air India will introduce Premium
(IFE) system. Economy cabins on its 787-8 and B777 fleet, while retaining the
First Class cabins on the latter. The first aircraft with a fully
The long-range variant of the Airbus A320neo, refurbished cabin is expected to enter service in mid-2024. Air
is part of Vistara’s 50 aircraft order with India has engaged London-based product design companies, JPA
Airbus, placed in 2018. The A321LR has a third Design and Trendworks, to assist with the cabin interior design
auxiliary center fuel tank and an increased elements of this refurbishment programme.
maximum take-off weight of 97 tonnes, allow-
ing it to fly up to 7,400 km. Air India will also lease 21 A320neos, four A321neos, five 777-
200LRs and six 777-300 ER, for a total of 36 aircraft. The decision
to lease the six 777-300 ERs was announced in December 2022,
Transformative Phase with the first of these aircraft slated for induction in the first
Under Air India’s 5 year future roadmap half of 2023. The 777-300 ERs will have four-class configuration
Vihaan.AI to transform itself into a competi- of First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy and will be
tive global airline, hundreds of initiatives are deployed to connect Indian metro cities with more international
underway across 22 broad workstreams are destinations.
underway to transform the airline over three
phases: Taxi, Take Off and Climb. Air India has The carrier signed leases and letters of intent (LOI) in September
now competed one year under the ownership 2022 for the 21 A320neos, four A321neos and five 777-200LRs.
of the Tatas and has made some significant Some of these aircraft are already in service with the first 777-
gains since then, increasing its total number 200LRs joining the fleet in December 2022 and becoming the
of operational aircraft by nearly 1/3d to 100 first Air India type to offer a Premium Economy Cabin. The last
aeroplanes. of five aircraft will be inducted in March 2023. The four A321
aircraft are expected to join the Air India fleet in the first quarter
The carrier has also dramatically ramped up of calendar year 2023, while the 21 A320 will be inducted in the
its international operations, increasing weekly second half of 2023.
international flights by 63 per cent with 16 new
international routes having been launched or The Tata Group appears to be making all the right moves to
announced. Air India has increased its aver- transform Air India into a competitive global airline. The large air-
age daily frequency per domestic route by 81 craft orders, cabin refurbishment of legacy aircraft, investments
per cent, with the number of average daily in personnel and training and relocation of key personnel to a
flights growing by 30 per cent. It has also central office in Gurugram are all steps in the right direction for
doubled its average daily revenue, while its the airline led by CEO & Managing Director, Campbell Wilson.
on-time performance has improved from 70 However, the aviation business is notoriously difficult and the
per cent in December 2021 to nearly 90 per transformation of a large carrier like Air India, will have many
cent in January. challenges. It may yet take a few more years, before improve-
ments fully filter down to the travelling public. Competing airlines,
Air India has also added over 1200 profes- however, would be well advised to plan for a day when Air India
sionals across key functions to upgrade is rivalling them on an even keel.
capabilities and to support growth and is
now co-locating employees in a centralised
location in the National Capital Region, ahead © Boeing
of a new state of the art facility in Gurugram,
near New Delhi, which is slated to open in
mid-2023. The carrier is also establishing a
dedicated information technology centre in
th Southern Indian state of Kochi and also
setting up a world-class training academy

Fleet Upgrade
Air India is refurbishing its entire legacy wide
body fleet, comprising 27 787-8s and 13 777
aircraft. The poor cabin condition of these
aircraft with broken seats and faded seat
fabric along with frequently non-operating

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