In late 2021, Air India was privatized, as Tata Group, which was Air India’s initial owner when the company was first founded, took control of the airline again. Since then, executives at the company have been working hard to transform the airline. Suffice it to say that this is no small task, given the state of Air India’s fleet.
Fortunately a lot will be changing over time. In late 2022, Air India revealed that it would refresh the interiors of its Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft. On top of that, in early 2023, Air India placed a landmark order for hundreds of Airbus and Boeing jets, worth tens of billions of dollars.
The first existing wide body jets should’ve already been reconfigured by now, so what exactly happened? Well, it’s not great news, as we’re going to have to be a lot more patient, before these aircraft get Air India’s new first and business class products. Thanks to Live from a Lounge for flagging this, and CNBC TV18 for the initial report.
In this post:
Air India investing over $400 million in wide body jet interiors
Tata Group intends to refresh the interiors of Air India’s existing long haul fleet. Here’s what we can expect:
- Air India will be refreshing the interiors of its entire legacy wide body fleet, including all Boeing 787s and Boeing 777s
- Air India will not only be refreshing all cabins (including all new seats, inflight entertainment, and Wi-Fi), but will also introduce a premium economy product across its long haul fleet
- Air India will be retaining the first class cabin on its 777s
- The planes will not only get new seats, but you can expect the configuration to change as well
- The company has hired London-based JPA Design and Trendworks to assist with this project
So, when can we expect these new interiors to debut on existing aircraft?
- Initially the plan was for the first reconfigured aircraft to enter service as of mid-2024, with all planes being reconfigured within 2.5 years, meaning late 2026 or 2027
- That’s no longer realistic, as Air India has been dealing with supply chain issues — the first reconfigured 787 is now expected to enter service in October 2025, while the first reconfigured 777 is expected to enter service at some point in 2026
- This project is now significantly over budget, and while it was initially supposed to cost $400 million, the expectation is now that it will cost tens of millions of dollars more than that
- The situation with 777s is so bad that Air India is planning some sort of a “refresh” of the jets in 2025, before they’re reconfigured in 2026
- There’s even talk of Air India changing seat suppliers for one aircraft type, though there are no details beyond that
Keep in mind that in addition to its existing long haul fleet, Air India is leasing some jets from other airlines, mostly on a fairly short term basis (meaning that these planes likely won’t be in Air India’s fleet in a decade). This is both intended to improve the passenger experience, and to add capacity.
For example, Air India is leasing six former Delta Air Lines Boeing 777-200LRs, three former Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ERs, and six former Etihad Airways Boeing 777-300ERs.
These planes are all significantly more premium than Air India’s existing long haul aircraft, and feature direct aisle access and fully flat seats in business class. Furthermore, the Delta and Singapore jets feature premium economy, while the Etihad and Singapore jets feature first class.
On top of that, Air India has started flying some Airbus A350-900s, which were initially intended for Aeroflot, so they have non-standard interiors, compared to Air India’s planned new layouts.
While I know Air India is trying, how disappointing that this project is delayed so significantly. The 777s are the planes most in need of upgrades, and they won’t even start to be reconfigured until 2026. Ugh.
My take on Air India’s cabin upgrades
I am happy to see Air India’s investment in its product, though of course it’s frustrating how slow this is all happening. Not only does the airline have a woefully outdated business class on Boeing 777s (in a 2-3-2 configuration with angled seats), but the cabins on many Air India planes are basically falling apart.
Here are some thoughts on the general cabin mixture we’re seeing on Air India wide body jets going forward:
- It’s interesting that Air India will maintain first class; some airlines have eliminated this while introducing a better business class product, but it seems that Air India is committed to maintaining this
- It’s fantastic that Air India will finally introduce fully flat business class seats with direct aisle access and doors; this will be a quantum leap compared to the current product
- I’m happy to see Air India also introducing premium economy throughout the long haul fleet, as India really seems like a market where there’s value in that, given how long so many flights to the country are
- The only downside to the new cabins is that Air India is going from a 3-3-3 layout in economy to a 3-4-3 layout; this was bound to happen, and matches the industry standard
- Once Air India does introduce this new product on planes, I hope the company invests in maintaining the seats, since that has historically been a major challenge for the airline
Bottom line
Air India plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars updating the cabins on its Boeing 787s and 777s. The airline will maintain first class on 777s, introduce a new business class on all long haul planes, add premium economy on all long haul planes, and also update the economy product.
This is all great news, though the terrible news is the timeline. While this project was supposed to start as of mid-2024, the first 787 with new cabins is now expected to enter service in October 2025, while the first 777 won’t be reconfigured until some point in 2026. That’s not good, and that’s the best case scenario as of now, so the situation could get even worse.
What do you make of Air India’s plans to update its cabins?
Really Disappointing to see that Campbell Wilson is so slow to upgrade the cabins on the 787 especially the business class seats. Every month that this project is delayed one can’t help wonder if they are deliberately dragging their feet to avoid spending the money.
If that’s the case , they are losing customers whose patience has run out
and they will no longer pay for an inferior product-Broken seats etc
I...
Really Disappointing to see that Campbell Wilson is so slow to upgrade the cabins on the 787 especially the business class seats. Every month that this project is delayed one can’t help wonder if they are deliberately dragging their feet to avoid spending the money.
If that’s the case , they are losing customers whose patience has run out
and they will no longer pay for an inferior product-Broken seats etc
I Hope someone can convey this to Campbell Wilson . I don’t foresee Air India getting a larger market Share ever.
Anybody know what these supply chain issues are, not just for AI but for all the airlines? It seems that every airline is having delays. By now any covid-related issues should be resolved so what exactly is the current holdup with suppliers? Or is it that all the seat upgrades that were delayed during covid are happening now and the suppliers just can't keep up with demand?
And since all these issues have been...
Anybody know what these supply chain issues are, not just for AI but for all the airlines? It seems that every airline is having delays. By now any covid-related issues should be resolved so what exactly is the current holdup with suppliers? Or is it that all the seat upgrades that were delayed during covid are happening now and the suppliers just can't keep up with demand?
And since all these issues have been known for a few years now, why do suppliers and airlines keep using unrealistic schedules rather than just setting realistic dates from the beginning? Forget about customers, it can't be great for the fleet and network planners to deal with schedule changes all the time.
Lol. You can't polish a turd. This airline will always be doomed.
Let's take Proximanova's wisdom to combat this delay.
"visualise yourself flying Safran Unity or new Air India or AIA or something of that kind! ;)" on board old Air India 777s and 787s.
I just wonder why he don't do the same on board Thai and Korean 777-200s, instead of cringing and crying all over the place and spread a false information like he currently does.
It was AIC not AIA tho.
When India was privatized and given to the conglomerate that now owns it, it was assumed there would be massive changes in product and service.
But so far their performance has been very disappointing and this postponement does not help. What that means is the Air India is still a must avoid airline
comes as precisely no surprise.
There hasn't been a major cabin retrofit program at a major global airline that has been on-time.
And yet we still have people that moan about how long the ex-Latam DL A350s sported their original interiors - and those aircraft are now undergoing mods - 3 years after DL put the first of those aircraft in service w/ a hybrid cabin.
It's telling when you look at available Aeroplan redemptions of AirIndia flights everywhere, any time. Plainly not much demand, as anyone savvy enough to play the points 'n miles game know that for the same number of miles you can pick up a redemption on any number of superior Asian/European airlines and be guaranteed a much better experience. So why waste valuable miles on this continuing basket case airline?
While I watched their renewal...
It's telling when you look at available Aeroplan redemptions of AirIndia flights everywhere, any time. Plainly not much demand, as anyone savvy enough to play the points 'n miles game know that for the same number of miles you can pick up a redemption on any number of superior Asian/European airlines and be guaranteed a much better experience. So why waste valuable miles on this continuing basket case airline?
While I watched their renewal plans with guarded enthusiasm, clearly I can shelve my interest in AI for the duration.
Actually, I redeemed for a flight on their Delta cabin and a359 cabin in business and it was a fair redemption I’d say. On par with air Canada. But I agree you have to be careful on which aircraft you book with them. Some of their aircraft are must avoid. For context, in business they pour Laurent Perrier Brut, and The Glenlivet 12, along with some nice wines (some not so nice ones.). They are...
Actually, I redeemed for a flight on their Delta cabin and a359 cabin in business and it was a fair redemption I’d say. On par with air Canada. But I agree you have to be careful on which aircraft you book with them. Some of their aircraft are must avoid. For context, in business they pour Laurent Perrier Brut, and The Glenlivet 12, along with some nice wines (some not so nice ones.). They are leveraging something from Singapore airlines on the soft product but they have a ways to go for sure. Maybe when SQ switched to Piper Vintage they gave the contract to AI for LP. It’s more like buyer beware, but not a total void.
Something deeper is just lacking in India's standards of labor and consumer-facing aircraft maintenance. They can't even keep brand new planes clean. What's the point of retrofitting them if they just end up as broken and dirty?
They are all over the shop as has always been the case and I’m not seeing this changing anytime soon - too many configurations so there’s just no consistency, the food is poor, their fleet management cleaning is appalling and it’s just a hit and miss adventure
They can hype up Air India's so called revival, but it is nowhere near par with its competitors. Maintenance is obviously the biggest problem, as is reliability. Even their A350s are starting to show some wear and tear, from what I'm hearing. Ditto to the other concerns about food, service, etc. The crew are generally nice and hospitable, but not much you can do to change failing standards.
If they want to be what British...
They can hype up Air India's so called revival, but it is nowhere near par with its competitors. Maintenance is obviously the biggest problem, as is reliability. Even their A350s are starting to show some wear and tear, from what I'm hearing. Ditto to the other concerns about food, service, etc. The crew are generally nice and hospitable, but not much you can do to change failing standards.
If they want to be what British Airways were in the 1980s-2000s, a complete shift in mentality is needed. A new livery to show a "New India", etc. ain't gonna cut it.
At this rate, I can't see myself choosing AI for international flights (I tend to frequent Bombay a lot, but use other choices even if it means a connection). And don't get me started on the chaotic clown show that is the various Indian airports with their inefficiencies.
There are so many problems w/ Air India, and it's not just the seats.
The service is not great, food quality is poor, ground game is weak, and the list goes on.
I don't imagine I'll be flying them anytime soon, even with these cabin retrofits coming in.
Air India just bought 10 787-8’s from China Southern so another mix of cabins to look forward too.
and to think that there were people that were convinced that UA would scoop those up
Has it been confirmed that Air India is buying China Southern's 10 Boeing 787-8s?