Air India leases 6 more planes to expand international flight operations

Air India, India’s largest airline and a Star Alliance member, announced today the lease of six Boeing B777-300 ER widebody planes to supplement its existing fleet. These aircraft are scheduled to enter service in the first half of 2023. The decision to lease six aircraft follows the leasing of thirty earlier this year, which included twenty-one Airbus A320, four Airbus A321 and five Boeing B777-200LR widebody aircraft.

Air India’s B777-300 ER will have four-class configuration of First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy, and will be deployed to connect Indian metro cities with more international destinations.  The airline’s aggressive expansion plan has already witnessed 19 long-grounded aircraft returning to the skies with 9 more to follow even as the airline has stepped up lease of narrow and wide-body aircraft.

As part of the expansion, Air India has raised the frequency of flights between key cities in the domestic sector and has also announced direct flights between Indian cities and key global destinations like Doha, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Birmingham. Further, Air India is set to commence direct flights from Delhi to key European cities like Milan, Vienna, and Copenhagen, and from Mumbai to New York, Paris and Frankfurt.

Mr. Campbell Wilson, CEO & Managing Director, of Air India, said, “Growing our network is an essential part of Air India’s Vihaan.AI transformational journey and we remain committed to increasing connectivity and frequency of flights both domestically and internationally. These additional aircraft leases will support our near-term growth even as we finalize plans to refresh and significantly grow our long-term fleet.”