The first aircraft to adorn Air India’s new livery — an Airbus A350 — is getting ready to be delivered to the Tata Group airline before this year-end. AI’s budget arm, AI Express, is also going to unveil its unique livery sometime the month. The mega LCC-in-the-works being created by merging AirAsia India into it has received two Boeing 737 MAX which are being painted in the new livery.
AI is supposed to get 5-6 A350s by next March. There’s a bit of delay on the first one because some extra tests were needed on some of the seats by the seat manufacturer. This calendar year AI will get one-two A350s.
The aircraft, a first for Indian carriers, will initially operate on domestic routes for some months so that AI crew gets the required experience on this type under the tutelage of experienced A350 pilots. Then the aircraft will operate to nearby international destinations before being used for long and ultra-long haul North American routes.
This is something airlines globally do when they induct a new type of aircraft. For instance, Singapore Airlines used to operate the double decker A380 between Changi and Kuala Lumpur when the first got the aircraft.
07/10/2023 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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