In 1932, Air India started operations with the De Havilland Puss Moth aircraft. On 21 February 1960, Air India International inducted its first Boeing 707 named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), thereby becoming the first Asian airline to induct a jet aircraft in its fleet.[44][45] In 1971, the airline took delivery of its first wide-body aircraft, a Boeing 747-200B named Emperor Ashoka (registered VT-EBD).[46] In 1986, Air India introduced its first Airbus aircraft, an Airbus A310-300.[47] On 4 August 1993, Air India took the delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 named Konark (registered VT-ESM).[48]Indian Airlines introduced the Airbus A320 family of aircraft in 1989 and the smaller Airbus A319s in 2005, which are now used by Air India on domestic and regional routes, respectively.[47] On 11 January 2006, Air India announced an order for 68 jets – 8 Boeing 777-200LR, 15 Boeing 777-300ER, 18 Boeing 737-800 and 27 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. The 18 Boeing 737s ordered were later transferred to Air India Express when Air India took delivery of the Dreamliners.[49] After the merger with Indian Airlines in 2007, Air India inducted the Airbus A321 in its fleet to operate mainly on short-haul international routes and leased the Airbus A330s to operate on medium-haul international routes.
The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on 26 July 2007, which was named Andhra Pradesh, and the first Boeing 777-300ER on 9 October 2007, which was named as Bihar.[citation needed] The carrier sold three Airbus A300 and one Boeing 747 in March 2009 for US$18.75 million, due to debts.[50] It also sold five of its eight Boeing 777-200LR aircraft to Etihad Airways in December 2013.[51] Air India received its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on 6 September 2012, commencing flights on 19 September 2012, which along with 777s, have since replaced the aging and fuel-inefficient 747s in the fleet of international routes.[52] On 21 April 2014, Air India decided to sell its remaining three Boeing 777-200LRs as well, citing higher operating costs.[53] On 24 April 2014, Air India issued a tender for leasing 14 Airbus A320 aircraft for up to six years, to strengthen its domestic network.[54]
In December 2022, a day after the merger announcement with Vistara, it was reported that Air India would order nearly five hundred new aircraft.[55][56] On 14 February 2023, Air India announced an order for 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing consisting of 210 A320neo family, 40 A350, 190 737 MAX for Air India Express, 20 787-9 and 10 777-9 aircraft at a cost of US$70 billion, with deliveries beginning in late 2023.[57] The airline announced that it would be leasing 36 aircraft, 25 narrow-body aircraft and 11 wide-body aircraft, till the delivery of the newly ordered planes.[58] On 26 March 2023, Air India took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo, albeit a leased one.[59] As part of its fleet restructuring, Air India unveiled its new logo, livery and branding on 10 August 2023 and received its first re-branded aircraft, an Airbus A350-900, on 23 December 2023.[60][61] On 22 April 2024, Air India sold their remaining four Boeing 747 aircraft to the US company AerSale.[62]
On 12 November 2024, with the merger of Vistara and Air India, all of Vistara's 70 aircraft were transferred to Air India.[63]
The airline revealed that it had placed another order of 100 aircraft from Airbus on 9 December 2024, converted from its options from the previous order. The deal comprised an additional 10 A350 aircraft and 90 A320 family aircraft.[64][22]
In December 2025, the airline is expected to receive its first Boeing 787-9 aircraft. This will be followed by the induction of a wide-body aircraft every six weeks throughout 2026–28. While two of these aircraft in FY2026-27 will be Airbus A350-1000s, the rest will be 787-9s.[65][66]
Legacy fleet retrofit programme
Air India has initiated a $400 million refit program for its legacy aircraft fleet. On 16 September 2024, the first phase of the refit began, in which 27 older A320neo and 40 Boeing widebody aircraft will be retrofitted with new seats, cabin and livery. VT-EXN, an A320neo, became the first to be retrofitted. The aircraft was supposed to be delivered and enter service in December 2024 after its prototyping phase and certification. The rest of the 27 narrowbody aircraft's upgradation and modernisation was planned to continue at the rate of 3 to 4 aircraft per month.[67][68]
As of March 2025, the first retrofitted legacy narrowbody aircraft, VT-EXN, had returned to the operational fleet, while the rest of the 26 legacy narrowbody fleet would complete the retrofit by the 3rd quarter of the year. The first of the legacy widebody aircraft, a Boeing 787, was planned to be sent for retrofitting by April 2025, followed by a Boeing 777 later in 2026, with the entire program expected to be completed by mid-2027.[69][70]
As per a press release on 10 August 2025, the first of the airline's Boeing 787-8, registered as VT-ANT, was ferried to Boeing's facility in Victorville, California in July. The aircraft is expected to be joined by another 787-8 in October, following which both aircraft will return to active service in December 2025. According to the current schedule, the entire 787 fleet will complete its retrofit programme by mid-2027. The 787-8 aircraft will receive a new three-class configuration, along with upgraded avionics and other critical components, as part of a reliability enhancement initiative. Seven of these aircraft will also undergo "heavy, scheduled maintenance (D-checks)" in parallel.[71][72][73]
Further, the retrofit programme of the 27 narrow-body A320neo was also proceeding as planned, with project completion in September 2025. The programme was fast-tracked after the addition of a third line in GMR's MRO facility in Hyderabad airport. However, the retrofitting of the Boeing 777 fleet had once again been pushed back, now scheduled to take place between early 2027 and October 2028. This delay is attributed to supply chain issues due to COVID pandemic.[71][72]
On 31 October 2025, Air India announced the completion of the first phase of its retrofit programme with the introduction of the final legacy A320neo following the interior upgrades. The airline was operating 104 aircraft of the A320 Family, which is either new or upgraded interior cabins. Further, the retrofit of 13 legacy A321 aircraft will commence from 2026.[10][74]
↑As per official website, the fleet count is 191. As the official website does not give the split by aircraft type, other sources have been used for the section, which differs from the count given in the official website
↑Sipinski, Dominik (1 June 2023). "Air India to start taking B737 MAX in 3Q23, A350 in 4Q23". ch-aviation. Retrieved 27 January 2024. Wilson said that at least nine A319s would be retired in the next 12 months, with many other aircraft due to return to their lessors.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
