Air India takes delivery of 1st A350

On 23 December 2023, Air India unpacked a nice Christmas-present in the form of taking delivery of its first Airbus A350. The A350-900, registered VT-JRA (554) was welcomed with a traditional water salute at Delhi after completing its delivery flight from Toulouse-Blagnac.

The aircraft is the first of six A350-900s the airline will take delivery of until March 2024. These six A350-900s were originally destined for Aeroflot and the cabins have received slight modifications to reflect the Air India-brand. They will be outfitted with 28 Business Class, 24 Premium Economy, and 264 Economy Class seats. Air India will start deployment of its first A350 in the coming weeks, initially serving domestic and short international destinations in order for the crew to get familiarized with the type.

Originally, Air India ordered six A350-900s and 34 A350-1000s but recently announced a change to its order. It has now reconfigured its A350-order into orders for 20 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s.

The delivery of its A350 marks the first step of the renewal and expansion process of Air India's widebody-fleet. Next to the Airbuses, this will also be done by its order of 20 Boeing B787-9s and ten B777-9s.

Today, Air India's widebody-fleet consists of eight B777-200LRs, fifteen B777-300ERs, and 27 B787-8s. The airline is also in the process of adding seven leased second-hand B777-300ERs in the coming period.

Photo by Air India.