Air India: Airline receives India’s first Airbus A350 aircraft

Tata-owned Air India on Saturday (December 23, 2023) welcomed the first of 20 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, registered VT-JRA, within the airline’s daring new livery, marking a turning level in its ongoing transformation story.

The aircraft arrived at New Delhi at 13:46 Hrs (native time) on Saturday (December 23, 2023) from the Airbus facility in Toulouse, France.

The supply flight, operated utilizing a particular name signal AI350, was welcomed by Air India representatives.

Air India’s Senior Commander Capt. Monika Batra Vaidya, who’s among the many first few Indian pilots to be educated on A350, was on board as an observer.

Air India leads the best way in catalysing the renaissance of Indian aviation, inducting the first new widebody fleet sort in India in additional than a decade, and thus, changing into the first Indian airline to fly the A350. Air India was additionally the first Indian airline to have inducted the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet sort in 2012.

Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India, stated: “This second marks a red-letter day for all of us at Air India. The A350 isn’t just steel and engines; it’s the flying embodiment of the relentless efforts of all Air India staff in the direction of our airline’s persevering with transformation and of our dedication to setting new benchmarks. It can be, in some ways, a declaration of Indian aviation’s resurgence on the world stage.”

“As an emblem of the brand new age of flying, the A350 guarantees a world-class, long-haul journey expertise on our continuous routes, offering an unparallelled stage of consolation. Its glorious flight economics and state-of-the-art know-how underscore our dedication to commercially profitable operations and to reaching our sustainability objectives,” Wilson added.

Air India’s A350 will enter industrial service in January 2024, initially working domestically for crew familiarisation, adopted by longer-haul flying to locations throughout continents. The schedule of business operations with the A350 will likely be introduced within the coming weeks.

Air India’s A350-900 aircraft are available a three-class cabin configuration with 316 seats designed by Collins Aerospace: 28 non-public Business Class suites with full-flat beds, 24 Premium Economy seats with additional legroom and a number of different differentiating options, and 264 spacious Economy Class seats.

All seats on the aircraft function the latest-generation Panasonic eX3 in-flight leisure system and HD screens to supply superior flying expertise.

The aircraft is the first of Air India’s 20 Airbus A350-900 on order, with 5 extra scheduled for deliveries by way of March 2024. Air India’s agency orders for 250 new aircraft with Airbus embody 20 A350-1000.