In addition to the 30 planes it announced it was leasing earlier this year, Air India announced on Monday that it is leasing six wide-body Boeing B777 aircraft to increase the size of its current fleet.
The full-service carrier controlled by the Tata Group had earlier in the day announced its decision to lease 12 aircraft, including six wide-body B777-300ERs and six narrow-body A320neos, to bolster its fleet and expand its domestic and global flight services network.
Air India announced in an amended statement that it will lease six B777-300 ER planes to add to its current fleet.
It stated that the introduction of these aircraft is anticipated for the first half of 2023.
The B777-300 ER used by Air India will have four class configurations: first, business, premium economy, and economy. The aircraft will be used to link Indian metropolises with additional foreign locations, the airline claimed.
Along with leasing aircraft, Air India has also restarted 19 aircraft that had been idle for a while, and nine more are anticipated to join the fleet in the near future.
Along with announcing increased international flight services, Air India is increasing the frequency of flights between important cities on domestic routes as part of the expansion.
“Growing our network is an essential part of Air India’s Vihaan.AI transformational journey and we remain committed to increasing connectivity and frequency of flights both domestically and internationally,” said Campbell Wilson, Managing Director and CEO at Air India.
Even as it completes plans to update and significantly expand the company’s long-term fleet, the additional aircraft leases will support the airline’s growth in the short term, he added.
