Airbus A 320 aircraft operated by Air India taxis at IGI Airport, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: V. Sudershan

Tata Group-owned Air India welcomed its first narrow-body aircraft in new livery. The Airbus A320 Neo, registered VT-RTN, landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi from the Airbus facility in Toulouse, France, on July 7.

The company said that the addition of the new aircraft is a significant milestone in its transformation journey. This addition to the Air India fleet features a three-class configuration, including luxury business class seats, 24 premium economy seats with extra legroom, and 132 comfortable economy class seats.

Notably, this introduction marks the first time Air India is offering premium economy on its narrow-body aircraft. The A320 Neo is expected to enter service in August 2024, primarily operating on domestic short-haul routes. Currently, three A320 Neo aircraft with three-class configurations in the old Air India livery have already commenced operations within the domestic network.

Starting early next year, Air India plans to enhance the flying experience for its guests by deploying new, upgraded, and refurbished aircraft across both its narrow-body and wide-body fleets.

Founded by the legendary J.R.D. Tata, Air India has a rich history in the aviation sector. Its inaugural flight took off on October 15, 1932. Since then, Air India has built an extensive domestic network and operates non-stop flights to major cities around the world, including destinations in the USA, Canada, U.K., Europe, the Far East, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Gulf.

After 69 years as a government-owned enterprise, Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express were welcomed back into the Tata Group in January 2022. The airline is currently navigating through a significant five-year transformation roadmap under the aegis of Vihaan.AI, with an ambition to become a world-class airline with an Indian heart. The first phase of this transformation, known as the Taxi phase, recently concluded.

It focused on addressing the basics, including returning many long-grounded aircraft to service, recruiting additional talent across flying and ground functions, upgrading technology, and enhancing customer care initiatives. Air India is a member of Star Alliance, the world’s largest global airline consortium, which enables it to offer extensive connectivity and facilitate travel for passengers worldwide.

Tata Group-owned Air India on July 1 said it will set up a training institute at Amravati in Maharashtra with an aim to train 180 commercial pilots annually.

“The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)-licensed Flight Training Organisation (FTO) at the Belora Airport will be the largest such institute in South Asia and become operational from the first quarter of next financial year,” Air India said in a statement.

According to the airline, the upcoming facility will be the first by any Indian airline in the country and will have 31 single-engine aircraft and three twin-engine aircraft for training.

Air India said it has got the tender from the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) to establish and operate the facility for 30 years.

“The FTO at Amravati will be a significant step towards making Indian aviation more self-reliant and offering more opportunities to the youth in India to fulfil their ambitions of flying as pilots. The young pilots coming out of this FTO will fuel Air India’s ambition of becoming a world-class airline, as it moves ahead in its transformation journey,” said Campbell Wilson, Managing Director and CEO at Air India.

“The facility, which will be developed on 10 acres, will have digitally-enabled classrooms, hostels on a par with global academies, a digitised operation centre, and a maintenance unit,” Air India said.

“The FTO will be operational by Q1 FY26 and offer aspiring pilots an opportunity to undergo training with world-class curricula on a par with best-in-class global schools,” said Sunil Bhaskaran, Director, Aviation Academy, Air India.

The collaborative initiative between MADC and Air India will not only boost the economy of Maharashtra by focussing on more than 3,000 new employment opportunities within the aviation sector, but also create employment in multifarious allied activities in skilling, technical and small entrepreneurial ventures culminating in an impressive contribution of more than ₹1,000 crore to the State’s GDP over the next decade,” said Swati Pandey, vice-chairman & Managing Director of MADC.

Air India will also introduce premium economy class seats in the A350-900 planes operating on the Delhi-London Heathrow route.

Air India will start operating its wide-body A350-900 aircraft on the Delhi-London route with two daily flights from September 1.

The flights will mark the introduction of the plane on the international long-haul route, as Air India revamps and expands its operations to strengthen presence in international and domestic segments.

“The A350-900 will replace the currently deployed Boeing 777-300 ER and Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on 14 of 17 weekly flights. As a result, an additional 336 seats will be available on the Delhi-London Heathrow route each week,” the airline said in a release on June 27.

Besides, the airline will introduce premium economy class seats in the A350-900 planes operating on the Delhi-London Heathrow route.

Air India will operate two daily flights between the national capital and London Heathrow with the A350-900 aircraft starting from September 1. The airline started operating the A350-900 plane on the international route from May 1 with services between Delhi and Dubai.

The Tata Group-owned airline operates 31 weekly flights to London Heathrow — 17 from Delhi and 14 from Mumbai. It also flies from Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Goa and Kochi to London Gatwick. There are 17 weekly flights on this route. Besides, the carrier operates 6 weekly flights to Birmingham from Delhi and Amritsar.

Air India started inducting the A350 planes this year and are being used for domestic flights as well. The airline has placed an order for 40 A350 planes and 6 of them are in its fleet.

“The deployment of our flagship A350s and the B777s with upgraded cabin interiors to London Heathrow marks a significant milestone for Air India,” Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said.

Air India on June 19 said it will launch premium economy class on select domestic routes from next month. File.

Air India on June 19 said it will launch premium economy class on select domestic routes from next month.

As of now, Vistara is the only Indian carrier which offers premium economy-class travel category on its domestic routes.

The Tata Group-owned airline said it has refitted two new A320neo aircraft in a three-class configuration, featuring eight seats in business, 24 seats with extra legroom in premium economy, and 132 in the economy category, offering a wider choice to its guests.

This is the first time the airline has introduced premium economy cabins on its narrow-body aircraft.

“The introduction of a three-class cabin to Air India’s narrow-body fleet and commencement of interior refits are important steps in the journey of enhancing the flying experience,” said Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Air India.

The latest upgrade of the narrow-body fleet, which operates on domestic and short-haul international networks, complements the upgraded wide-body experience available on A350 fleet and new B777s, and on all other wide-body planes as they are refitted over the next two years, he said.

Air India has plans to introduce the three-class configuration to its entire full-service narrow-body fleet over the next year. Existing aircraft are now being progressively inducted for refit, while new aircraft joining the fleet will be delivered with the new Air India experience, it said.

An Air India flight. Representative image
| Photo Credit: PTI

A week after an Air India passenger allegedly found a blade-like metal piece in his food onboard a Bangalore-San Francisco flight, the airline confirmed the presence of a “foreign object” in the food. It (the object) came from the vegetable processing machine used at the facilities of its catering partner, the airline said in a statement on June 17.

“Air India confirms that a foreign object was found in the meal of a guest aboard one of our flights. After investigation, it has been identified as coming from the vegetable processing machine used at the facilities of our catering partner,” Air India Chief Customer Experience Officer Rajesh Dogra said in the statement. The airline had initiated a probe after the passenger posted on X that there was a blade-like metal object in the meal.

“Air India food can cut like a knife. Hiding in its roasted sweet potato and fig chaat was a metal piece that looked like a blade. I got a feel of it only after chewing the grub for a few seconds. Thankfully, no harm was done,” the passenger, Mathures Paul, a journalist, said in the post. He blamed Air India’s catering service, adding, “but the incident doesn’t help the image I have of Air India”, adding that “what if the metal piece was in the food served to a child?”

The airline has worked with its catering partner to strengthen measures to prevent any recurrence, including more frequent checking of the processor, especially after chopping any hard vegetables, Mr. Dogra said in the statement. “Air India has engaged with the affected customer and deeply apologises for this experience,” he added.

This is the second incident involving the food served on the Tata Group-owned airline’s long-haul flights.

Earlier on Saturday, a business-class passenger of the airline’s New Delhi-Newark flight had alleged that he was served “uncooked” food by the airline and the seats were dirty, describing the journey as “no less than a nightmare”.

A man took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticise Air India and share his horrific experience while travelling on a business class seat from New Delhi to Newark in New Jersey, United States. He said that the flight was “no less than a nightmare” and that he had spent Rs 5 lakh for a round trip. “Horror Story. After flying with Emirates for a few years, I recently moved to Air India as they offer direct flights to NY, Chicago & London which are my frequent travel destinations. Yesterday’s flight was no less than a nightmare..Booked business class (office trip). The seats were not clean, worn off & of the 35 atleast 5 seats were not functional. 25 mins delayed take off,” Vineeth K said on the microblogging platform.

He added that his seat could not be turned into a flatbed. Mr Vineeth then requested the crew and after a few minutes, he was moved to another seat. He continued, “Woke up after a few hours, the food was served and it was uncooked (never faced this in AI), the fruits were stale (everyone onboard returned back). TV/Screen never worked. Not that I would have watched, just tried and it showed ‘Not Found’ error. After all this, final nail in the coffin is THEY BROKE MY LUGGAGE,” the user explained.

HORROR STORY with #AirIndia business class flight from New Delhi – Newark (AI 105)

After flying with Emirates for a few years, I recently moved to Air India as they offer direct flights to NY, Chicago & London which are my frequent travel destinations

Yesterday’s flight… pic.twitter.com/STf2xrPich

— Vineeth K (@DealsDhamaka) June 15, 2024

Mr Vineeth stated that he also had Etihad Airlines for a much cheaper price but chose to go with Air India due to its direct flight service. “BAD FOOD, WORN OUT, DIRTY SEAT COVERS, NON WORKING TV for Rs.500000 (round trip), Damaged my luggage,” he said alongside a few pictures of the aircraft’s seat and the food served on the flight.

Mr Vineeth also shared a screenshot of a now-deleted response he received from Air India. “Dear Sir, we’re sorry for the discomfort and we never want our passengers to face such inconvenience. Please DM us your booking details, seat number and DBR/ filer reference number. We’ll promptly look into it,” it read. In the same X thread, the airline said, “Dear Sir, we understand your disappointment and regret the hassle you faced. Believe us, we never want our passengers to have this kind of experience. We are highlighting this internally for further review.”

Dear Sir, we understand your disappointment and regret the hassle you faced. Believe us, we never want our passengers to have this kind of experience. We are highlighting this internally for further review.

— Air India (@airindia) June 15, 2024

Since being shared, his post has amassed a lot of reactions on social media. Many users shared similar problems they faced with the airline.

“As a policy, I always avoid AI for international flights and keep it as last option for domestic. Can’t spoil the trip,” said a user.

Another added, “Had similar experience on AI flight from Delhi to Singapore. Worn our seats, non-working screens, flight delayed by 30 mins, got cooked for an hour as AC was non functioning properly till we tool off.. To their credit they escorted us switftly through Delhi Airport transfers on our way back.”

“I had the EXACT same issue. A few years ago. Swore never to fly them. And never did. It’s hit and miss. If you get a new aircraft you’re ok. Otherwise it’s a mess. Shocked by the food. It’s usually a highlight,” remarked a third person.

A user said, “Flew AI Dubai – Delhi last month in A380-900. Brand new aircraft, fantastic food, and was on time. May be I was plain lucky.”

“Stopped flying @airindia last year after repeated “technical problems” leading to rerouted flights for emergency landings. Switched to @SingaporeAir and though it’s not a direct flight from BLR->SF, feel safer and better taken care of,” remarked a person.

File picture of Campbell Wilson, MD and CEO of Air India
| Photo Credit: R. Ravindran

Air India will be retrofitting more than 100 planes, including 40 wide body planes, and has ordered around 25,000 aircraft seats as part of revamping the fleet, its chief Campbell Wilson said on Wednesday.

Emphasising that “plenty of things” are going on as part of the transformation at Air India, Mr. Wilson said the focus is on integration, growth, optimisation and customer experience.

ALSO READ | ‘A passenger boarding Air India must be pleasantly surprised’: CEO Campbell Wilson 

As part of Tata Group consolidating its aviation business, AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, is getting merged with Air India Express and Vistara with Air India.

There is “immense flexibility” for the group whether it is full or low cost services and “we are in a good position,” the Air India CEO and MD said at the CAPA India Aviation Summit here.

According to him, Air India will be retrofitting more than 100 aircraft and has also ordered around 25,000 seats as part of retrofitting the planes.

About costs for the airline industry, Mr. Wilson said airfares have been underperforming overall inflation.

Air India has embarked on a five-year transformation plan, with Mr. Wilson saying there are “plenty of things” going on.

The new Air India is not old Air India and “people (airlines) now want to dance with us,” Mr. Wilson said while talking about changes and possible partnerships.

On bilateral rights, the Air India chief said there should be a pragmatic approach.

New Delhi:

Airport operators and airlines have to be customer-oriented and making passengers wait for eight hours, be in a plane or the terminal, is unacceptable, Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said.

Speaking to NDTV in an exclusive interview, Mr Scindia said he was only reinforcing the message sent in December 2022. Customers, he added, should be kept abreast of developments and given a choice to continue their flight or not, whatever problems the airline is facing.

The minister’s comments come in the backdrop of the 20-hour delay in a San Francisco-bound Air India flight yesterday, that saw passengers being made to wait inside an aircraft despite the absence of air-conditioning. Amid the unprecedented heat wave currently on in the national capital, many passengers were taken ill.

Visuals from the airport showed many passengers lying down along an aerobridge corridor. Others complained about fainting inside the plane. The plane finally took off at 3 pm today. The airline has received a showcause notice from the ministry.

“If the flight delay extends beyond a period of time, then you must cancel the flight and reschedule and thereby alleviate the sufferings of passengers,” the minister told NDTV today.

“If any passenger has to wait for eight hours — and mind you the time is enough for a Mumbai-London flight or a Delhi-London flight — waiting inside the aircraft with no air-conditioning or waiting inside the terminal with no facilities, unfortunately that is unacceptable to me,” he added.

An Air India plane. File
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI

Passengers of a San Francisco-bound Air India flight had a tough time at the Delhi airport on May 30 evening as the departure was delayed for more than six hours due to a technical issue with the aircraft.

The flight AI 183, which was to be operated with a Boeing 777 aircraft and take off at around 1530 hours on Thursday, has been rescheduled and will now take off at 1500 hours on Friday, according to an airline official.

Some passengers of the flight took to social media complaining about the delay and one of them said that there was no air conditioning in the plane.

The airline official said the aircraft had developed a technical issue and engineering checks were carried out.

Due to the delay, the crew had crossed the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) and also if the flight had taken off, it would have reached San Francisco when there are night landing restrictions there, the official added.

The flight is now scheduled to take off at 1500 hours on Friday, the official said and added that passengers were offered the options of full refund, complimentary rescheduling and hotel accommodation.

Rise in number of flight delays

In March, the aviation security watchdog Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) issued new guidelines that will allow the exit of passengers from an aircraft through an airport departure gate in case there is a long delay in operating the flight after boarding.

The directive from the BCAS had come against the backdrop of rising instances of congestion and flight delays, resulting in passengers getting stuck in aircraft after boarding for long hours.

BCAS Director General Zulfiquar Hasan, on April 1, said the guidelines will help in ensuring “less harassment” for passengers and they would not have to keep sitting inside an aircraft for long hours after boarding.

In case of long flight delays and other emergencies after boarding, passengers will be permitted to exit through the departure gate of the airport concerned.

“Airport operators have to make arrangements for the infrastructure, including for screening, for implementing the guidelines,” he said and added that a decision on deboarding the passengers will be taken by airlines and security agencies concerned.

It could not be immediately ascertained whether Air India opted to follow these guidelines.

Meanwhile, an Air India flight from Mumbai to San Francisco, which was originally scheduled to take off at 1600 hours on May 24, was rescheduled and finally departed at around 1730 hours on May 25. The inordinate delay was due to multiple reasons, including a technical glitch.

On May 24, passengers had to wait inside the aircraft for more than five hours before the flight was rescheduled for May 25.

New Delhi:

A passenger of an Air India flight alleged some people fainted inside the aircraft, which had no air-conditioning, after a delay of over eight hours.

Shweta Punj, a journalist, in a post on X, said flight No. AI 183 was later by over eight hours, and “people were made to board the plane and sit without air-conditioning” at Delhi airport.

She said the passengers were then told to exit the aircraft after some of them fainted.

Delhi is experiencing a severe heatwave, with the temperature reaching a record 52.9 degree Celsius on Wednesday.

“If there is a privatisation story that has failed it is Air India. DGCA [aviation regulator] AI 183 flight has been delayed for over eight hours, passengers were made to board the plane without air-conditioning, and then deplaned after some people fainted in the flight. This is inhuman,” Ms Punj said in the post on X, tagging Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

If there is a privatisation story that has failed it is @airindia@DGCAIndia AI 183 flight has been delayed for over 8 hours , passengers were made to board the plane without air conditioning, and then deplaned after some people fainted in the flight.This is inhuman! @JM_Scindiapic.twitter.com/86KpaOAbgb

— Shweta Punj (@shwwetapunj) May 30, 2024

The Air India X handle responded to her: “Dear Ms. Punj, we truly regret to note the disruptions. Please be rest assured that our team is actively working to address the delay and appreciate your ongoing support and understanding. We are also alerting our team to provide necessary assistance to the passengers.”

Another passenger, Abhishek Sharma, appealed to the airline for swift action and drew its attention to let his parents and “numerous other parents stranded at the boarding area [to] go home”.

@airindia please let mine and the numerous other parents stranded at the boarding area go home!

AI 183 is over 8 hrs late. People were made to board the plane and sit without ac. Then deplaned and not allowed to enter the terminal because immigration was done#inhumanpic.twitter.com/0XdDBAovBK

— Abhishek Sharma (@39Abhishek) May 30, 2024

“AI 183 is over eight hours late. People were made to board the plane and sit without AC. Then deplaned and not allowed to enter the terminal because immigration was done,” Mr Sharma said in a post on X.

The Air India X bot handle replied to Mr Sharma with the same message that it responded to Ms Punj.

Visuals posted by many other passengers show people including children sitting on the floor, and some have taken off their shoes. They appear exhausted.

In January, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued guidelines to handle chaotic situations after a huge rush was seen due to fog at Delhi airport. The DGCA in the standard operating procedure (SOP) for “facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights”, said that airlines may cancel flights that are likely to be delayed or “consequentially delayed” beyond three hours. The DGCA had said all airlines must follow the SOP immediately.