New Delhi: Tata Group-owned Air India has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner since the airline’s privatisation nearly four years ago, marking a key milestone in its fleet modernisation drive.
An airline official said the title transfer of the aircraft was completed at Boeing’s Everett facility in Seattle on January 7. This is also Air India’s first line-fit or custom-built Dreamliner, meaning the aircraft has been manufactured specifically to the airline’s specifications.
Following mandatory inspections by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the wide-body aircraft is expected to arrive in India in the coming days. The Dreamliner features a three-class cabin layout comprising economy, premium economy, and business class sections.
The last time Air India inducted a line-fit Dreamliner was in October 2017, when the carrier was still under government ownership. The newly delivered aircraft is the airline’s first wide-body induction and the 52nd aircraft overall from the 220 Boeing jets ordered in 2023.
Meanwhile, Air India Express has already inducted 51 Boeing 737-8 narrow-body aircraft, including its first line-fit plane, which joined the fleet in late December.
After the Tata Group took control of Air India in January 2022, the airline placed mega orders for 350 Airbus and 220 Boeing aircraft. Of the Airbus order, six A350 aircraft have already been inducted into the Air India fleet.
Air India currently operates 26 Boeing 787-8 aircraft and six Boeing 787-9s inherited from erstwhile Vistara, which has since been merged with the airline. The Air India Group’s total fleet strength now exceeds 300 aircraft, with around 185 operated by Air India and the rest by Air India Express.
Officials also said that around a dozen legacy Dreamliners with upgraded interiors are expected to return to service gradually through 2026. In November last year, Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson stated that the group aims to induct 26 wide-body and narrow-body aircraft and operate 81 per cent of its international flights with upgraded planes by the end of 2026.
