Air India, owned by the Tata group, said on Tuesday that it would spend $400 million to refurbish the interiors of 67 planes, or more than half its fleet, as part of a multi-million dollar transformation of the former state-run carrier.
Since taking control of the carrier in 2022, the Tatas have spent millions of dollars on ordering hundreds of new jets and changing the carrier’s logo, branding and plane livery, among other upgrades to the carrier’s operations.
Now it is refitting the interiors of older planes — 27 narrowbody Airbus A320neo and 40 widebody Boeing 787s and 777s — in partnership with companies including Astronics, Thales and RTX’s Collins Aerospace, it said.
The first narrowbody was sent for an upgrade on Monday and Air India plans to upgrade three and four planes per month, it said.
It expects to complete the upgradation of the legacy A320 neo aircraft by mid-2025, following which all its narrow body planes will have three-class configuration.
The refit of the first wide body aircraft will commence in early 2025, subject to supply chains. The carrier’s legacy wide body fleet comprises B787 and B777 planes.
Its total fleet currently stands at 128 aircraft, per its website. The Air India group has ordered 470 jets from Airbus and Boeing.
The group includes low-cost carriers Air India Express and Air Asia India.
From November, Air India will also operate planes of Vistara, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Group.
The exercise will see the installation of over 15,000 next generation seats across business, premium economy and economy class, Air India said.
Passengers have been complaining about some service issues with the airline’s legacy fleet, including those related to inflight entertainment systems.
According to the airline, the refitted A320 neo aircraft will feature eight business class seats, 24 premium economy seats and 132 economy seats. Among other facilities, these planes will have portable electronic device holders and USB ports.
“The commencement of interior refit of the narrow body fleet is an important step in our journey of enhancing the flying experience of our customers. Over time, all the legacy wide body aircraft will also be refitted,” Air India chief executive officer and managing director Campbell Wilson said.
After taking over the loss-making Air India, Tata Group has put in a place a transformation road map for the airline, which is now expanding its fleet as well as network. The carrier has also started operating wide body A350 planes on various routes.
Reuters and PTI
