Air India refreshes its fleet of aircraft to operate on US-Canada routes

Under this interim solution, the airline will install new seat covers, cushions, curtains, and carpets, all aligned with Air India’s new branding

While global supply chain issues have delayed the retrofit of Air India’s Boeing 777 aircraft, the airline has started refreshing these aircraft that operate on the US and Canada routes, officials aware of the matter said.

The airline has already sent the first of the total 13 B777s (aircraft) that cater to the North American market. (Air India | Facebook)

The airline has 13 legacy B777 aircraft operating on these ultra-long-haul routes, and officials said that all these are expected to be refreshed in this temporary setup to which Air India spokesperson did not respond to queries on the matter, an official said.

“Aimed at providing a new or refreshed look to the legacy B777 aircraft, the airline has already sent the first of the total 13 B777s (aircraft) that cater to the North American market.It left the country last week. The airline has tied up with SIA Engineering Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines Group for the task. It aims to complete these refreshments by the end of this year,” the official added.

Under this interim solution, the airline will install new seat covers, cushions, curtains, and carpets, all aligned with Air India’s new branding.

A second official said, “The heavy refresh of the cabin will also include basic repairs and the sprucing up of lavatories, cabin walls, meal tables, armrests, and galleys. They will, however, not cover anything related to the change of the IFE (in-flight entertainment) or the livery.”

Air India has been focusing on enhancing its premium services and improving flight timings to attract more passengers, particularly in the US market.

In an internal communication to the airline’s employees in November last year, Air India’s CEO, Campbell Wilson, said, “The wide-body aircraft are certainly produced in a different factory, but for all of the airframes, there are supply challenges… every airline is impacted by it. We had hoped to start retrofitting the 787s and 777s by now. Unfortunately, the global supply chains in some areas are still recovering, and seats, in particular, are a challenge,” his email stated.

Wilson, in an interview with Reuters last year, had said that seat manufacturers have been grappling with a shortage of skilled labor and capacity, delaying the retrofit of these aircraft. Once the refit starts, it will take about two years to bring the widebody fleet to international standards, he said.

The airline, under its five-year-long transformation program, has been working toward retrofitting all its 67 legacy (both narrow- and wide-body) aircraft. While the airline is running behind schedule for wide-body aircraft, the refit of the narrow-body aircraft, which are the mainstay of domestic operations for most airlines, is ongoing and is expected to be completed by July this year.

The refit of the legacy wide-body aircraft, however, may commence next year.

“As of now there is no clarity on the timeline of the retrofit of the old B777s and hence heavy refreshment has been planned in the interim to facelift the cabin experience for passengers,” the second official concluded.