Air India received the first A350 in New Delhi on Saturday, December 23, which is part of an agreement for 40 aircraft with Airbus.
The A350-900 aircraft, registered VT-JRA, had been manufactured for Aeroflot, which, due to trade sanctions due to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, was unable to receive it.
By March 2024, Air India should receive another five jets of the model. In total, the former state-owned carrier, now owned by the Tata group, is expected to have 20 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s, a higher-capacity variant of the widebody.
The new jet debuts Air India’s updated livery, in shades of red, gold and lilac. It is configured with 316 seats in three classes: 28 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats and 264 economy seats.
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Air India’s plans are to put the A350-900 into service in January 2024. The carrier aims to become a global player capable of rivaling airlines such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad, in addition to facing low-cost Indian airlines. like IndiGo.
