Air India receives first upgraded Boeing 787-8 in Delhi from California as $400 million refurbishment plan progresses
Air India’s first renewed wide-body Boeing 787-8 aircraft arrived at Delhi Airport on Monday; This is a major milestone more than three years after the Tata Group-owned carrier announced a $400 million plan to overhaul its legacy twin-aisle fleet.
According to the airline’s statement, the aircraft, registered as VT-ANT, completed a non-stop ferry flight from San Bernardino in the United States, crossed the Pacific and landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 22:00. PTI.
San Bernardino International Airport in California serves as a major hub for maintenance, painting and storage of Boeing aircraft.
Air India on Monday launched its first refurbished twin-aisle Boeing 787-8 aircraft, registered VT-ANT, marking the completion of a full cabin refurbishment for the first of its 26 B787 aircraft.
The airline’s legacy wide-body fleet, which has suffered losses, includes Boeing 787-8s and B777s operating long-haul routes to destinations in the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States and the Far East.
The aircraft received extensive interior upgrades at Boeing’s modification facility in Victorville, California, and was later repainted in Air India’s new livery at AeroPro, an FAA Part-145 certified aircraft painting unit in California.
The airline added that after obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals and permits, the aircraft completed the non-stop ferry flight from San Bernardino to Delhi.
Air India’s plan to expand its wide-body fleet
Air India, which returned to private ownership in January 2022 after Tata Group repurchased it from the government, had in December the same year announced its plan to upgrade its entire old wide-body fleet of 27 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners and 13 B777 aircraft with an investment of over $400 million.
The program includes a complete renovation of cabin interiors, including the installation of new generation seats and improved in-flight entertainment systems in all classes.
This also includes the introduction of a premium economy cabin on both aircraft types, with the first renewed aircraft expected to enter service.
“The retrofit program is a significant step forward in Air India’s transformation journey. As it progresses, it will help deliver a consistent experience across the fleet with a three-class cabin configuration with luxurious Business Class seats, India’s only Premium Economy and an enhanced Economy cabin,” Air India said in a statement last year.
But the project has faced delays due to supply chain disruptions and geopolitical challenges, and work only began in July last year, when the first of 26 Boeing 787-8 aircraft were sent to the Victorville facility for refurbishment.
Air India’s Boeing 787-8 fleet was reduced to 26 aircraft after one of the aircraft was lost in a crash in Ahmedabad in June last year.
(With input from the agency)
