Air India's Ambitious Strategies Unveiled for Its Widebody Aircraft

Air India has never seen a fleet expansion like this in the past several years.

In the coming months, the airline will welcome more widebody aircraft and also refurbish the interiors of almost one-third. It will also look to increase cargo due to its increased capacity. We'll look at these plans in more detail.

Widebody Fleet to Increase by 30%

Air India will have a much larger widebody fleet by March 2024. As part of the deal it signed earlier this summer, Air India will receive six new Airbus A350 900 aircraft. The Indian aviation regulator DGCA recently issued the letter of type acceptance for the Rolls Royce-powered A350s. This opens the door for their induction into the airline’s fleet.

By the end of next year's financial year, the A350s will join five leased B777200LR aircraft and nine leased B777300ER planes to expand the carrier’s long-haul network by 30%. Vihaan.AI is Air India's massive program of transformation that began last year. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said.

"As you're all aware, this has been a critical focus of Vihaan.AI, so it's nice to see that the process is now well underway, and that there is light ahead."

Increased cargo share

Air India's widebody fleet will also play a key role in the cargo sector. According to a report published by Mint, the airline is looking to increase capacity with its widebody fleet in order to gain around 20% of the market share for cargo over the next two to three years. Mint quotes a source familiar with the development.

"There is a change of strategy in line with the expanding fleet of wide-body aircraft. The airline is looking to establish direct channels. Discussions are taking place with big exporters as well. Electronics is one sector where there is potential and preliminary talks have taken place with companies along with telecom and pharmaceuticals."

Air India, according to sources, has also made changes to its cargo handling process and is preparing the infrastructure for sector-specific cargo.

Refurbishment motive

Air India is simultaneously working on the problems relating to the interiors. It is a huge challenge to repair its planes, after many years of neglect. The process will take time but is already underway.

Wilson said that by March 2024 around a third (33%) of the widebody fleet would have modern seats, and in-flight entertainment systems and that the remainder of the fleet would then begin their $400 million interior refurbishment to ensure that the product quality is consistently high on each aircraft.

Air India has taken several steps to enhance its digital solutions. Senior executives from Air India visited Apple's US headquarters and Stanford University in order to improve efficiency in key areas, such as inventory optimization and pricing, as well as engine and emission performance.

Source: simpleflying.com