Skift Take
Air India has opened its checkbook to offer a contemporary experience, one it hopes will dissuade passengers from flying one-stop via the Middle East or Far-East Asia when it is ready with its offering
Air India, under government control until 2022, has long had a problem with its interiors: Broken seats and dysfunctional in-flight entertainment topped the complaints.
When Air India was privatized, the government handed over the planes on an as-is basis. At the CAPA India Aviation Summit 2023, CEO Campbell Wilson told the audience how Air India had to resort to 3D Printing of small spare parts to keep the seats serviceable.
Now Air India is trying to fix all that.
The airline claims to have completed the refurbishment of 40% of the seats of the entire fleet (widebody and narrowbody). And it says it has restored 99% of the In-Flight Entertainment systems on its premium cabin inventory.
Air India has also decided to augment its fleet by leasing aircraft, and brought in improved interiors as a result.
In 2022, it signed a lease for five Boeing 777-200LR aircraft that had been a part of