<p>The Tata Group-owned Air India has decided to procure its maiden batch of wide-bodied A350 aircraft from Airbus and the first plane is likely to be delivered to the airline by March 2023, sources said on Wednesday.</p>.<p>However, it was not immediately clear how many A350 aircraft will be purchased by Air India.</p>.<p>Air India has not bought a single aircraft since 2006 when it had placed orders for purchasing 111 aircraft -- 68 from the US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing and 43 from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.</p>.<p>A wide-bodied plane like Airbus A350 has a bigger fuel tank that allows it to travel long distances such as India-US routes.</p>.<p>The Tata Group took control of Air India on January 27 after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year.</p>.<p>Sources on Wednesday said Air India has started asking its senior pilots if they will be interested in getting the "conversion training" to operate A350 aircraft.</p>.<p>Air India's pilots are trained to operate the wide-bodied aircraft of Boeing. Therefore, they have to undergo "conversion training" to operate the A350 aircraft of Airbus.</p>.<p>According to Air India's website, the airline has total 49 wide-bodied aircraft -- 18 Boeing B777, 4 Boeing B747 and 27 B787 -- in its fleet. The carrier has 79 narrow-bodied planes in its fleet too.</p>.<p>Sources said Air India is purchasing A350 aircraft and is likely to get its first A350 plane by March 2023.</p>.<p>Since April, the airline's chairman N Chandrasekaran -- who also is the chairman of the Tata Group -- has rejigged the top management of the airline, bringing in senior and middle-level executives who have worked in other companies of the Tata Group such as Tata Steel and Vistara.</p>.<p>Air India and Airbus did not respond to PTI's queries regarding the aircraft procurement. </p>
<p>The Tata Group-owned Air India has decided to procure its maiden batch of wide-bodied A350 aircraft from Airbus and the first plane is likely to be delivered to the airline by March 2023, sources said on Wednesday.</p>.<p>However, it was not immediately clear how many A350 aircraft will be purchased by Air India.</p>.<p>Air India has not bought a single aircraft since 2006 when it had placed orders for purchasing 111 aircraft -- 68 from the US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing and 43 from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.</p>.<p>A wide-bodied plane like Airbus A350 has a bigger fuel tank that allows it to travel long distances such as India-US routes.</p>.<p>The Tata Group took control of Air India on January 27 after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year.</p>.<p>Sources on Wednesday said Air India has started asking its senior pilots if they will be interested in getting the "conversion training" to operate A350 aircraft.</p>.<p>Air India's pilots are trained to operate the wide-bodied aircraft of Boeing. Therefore, they have to undergo "conversion training" to operate the A350 aircraft of Airbus.</p>.<p>According to Air India's website, the airline has total 49 wide-bodied aircraft -- 18 Boeing B777, 4 Boeing B747 and 27 B787 -- in its fleet. The carrier has 79 narrow-bodied planes in its fleet too.</p>.<p>Sources said Air India is purchasing A350 aircraft and is likely to get its first A350 plane by March 2023.</p>.<p>Since April, the airline's chairman N Chandrasekaran -- who also is the chairman of the Tata Group -- has rejigged the top management of the airline, bringing in senior and middle-level executives who have worked in other companies of the Tata Group such as Tata Steel and Vistara.</p>.<p>Air India and Airbus did not respond to PTI's queries regarding the aircraft procurement. </p>