NEW DELHI: Air India on September 12 said it will progressively induct 30 new aircraft, including five wide-body Boeing planes, from this year-end, as the Tatas-owned airline eyes to strengthen its domestic and international services.

The airline has inked leases and letters of intent (LoI) for inducting five wide-body Boeing and 25 Airbus narrow-body planes over the next 15 months.

"The airline's fleet will grow by more than 25% when these new aircraft start flying in late 2022. These new aircraft represent the first significant fleet growth since Air India was acquired by the Tata Group earlier this year, excluding the 10 long-grounded narrow-body and 6 wide-body aircraft that have recently been brought back into service "it stated in a statement.

21 Airbus A320 Neos, 4 Airbus A321 Neos, and 5 Boeing B777-200LRs are among the aircraft being leased. 
The B777-200LRs will join the fleet between December 2022 and March 2023. They will be deployed on routes from Indian metro cities to the United states.

Bangalore will acquire a 3x weekly service to San Francisco, while Mumbai will gain flights to both of the New York region's international airports, Newark Liberty and John F Kennedy. 

The statement read, "These aircraft would enable Air India to offer Premium Economy haul flights for the first time."  The statement said that the 21 A320 neo aircraft will be added to the fleet in the second half of 2023, while the 4 A321 neo aircraft are anticipated to join the fleet in the first quarter of the following year. These aircraft will be used for domestic flights as well as quick overseas trips.

"Air India is excited to start growing its fleet and its global reach again after a long period of little expansion. These new aircraft provide an immediate demand for increased capacity and connectivity and represent a significant step forward, together with returning current aircraft to service "Campbell Wilson, CEO and MD of Air India, said.

The airline now has 70 narrow-body aircraft in its fleet. 54 of them are now in use, while the remaining 16 will gradually be put back into service by the beginning of 2023. There are 43 wide-body aircraft in Air India's fleet, 33 of which are flying right now. By the start of 2023, the rest will be back in service.

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