BackAir India to bring back 10 grounded aircraft by 2023
Following its acquisition by Tata Group, Boeing is working closely with Air India to restore aircraft grounded for long periods due to restrictions related to COVID-19 and others
PremiumAir India will bring back its 10 wide body aircraft to service by early 2023, the Tata owned airline said on Sunday.
"Air India's wide-body fleet currently stands at 43 aircraft, of which 33 are operational. This is a significant improvement from 28 aircraft that the airline was operating till recently," its statement said according to news agency PTI.
Wide-body aircraft are best suited for long-haul international travel like India-US or India-Canada. The aircraft has a bigger fuel tank.
The carrier also added that the remaining aircraft will be progressively retuned by early 2023. They also announced that Delhi-Vancouver flight which is currently operating just three times per week will fly daily from 31 August.
The growing traffic between Delhi and Vancouver and with the return to service of the Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft (which is also a wide-body aircraft), is the reason for this enhancement of frequency between the cities.
Following its acquisition by Tata Group, Boeing is working closely with Air India to restore aircraft grounded for long periods due to restrictions related to COVID-19 and others.
"The progressive restoration of these aircraft has already allowed Air India to increase schedule resilience and will allow further frequency and network increases over the coming months," the statement added.
The Tata Group took control of Air India on 27 January after successfully winning the bid for the airline on 8 October last year.
Campbell Wilson, the newly appointed CMD of Air India had asked last month about the airline's integrated operations control centre (IOCC). IOCC is a sort of "nerve centre" of any airline. He asked IOCC to report directly to him and provide suggestions for improving on-time performance.
He also remarked that the increase in frequency between the Delhi-Vancouver route is the first step towards restoring Air India's fleet and network.
With Inputs from PTI
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