Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson with cabin and cockpit crews poses with the newly-inducted Airbus’s wide-body A350-900 aircraft.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Air India on Monday launched its maiden scheduled commercial flights with India’s first Airbus A350-900 heralding a new era for Indian aviation.
The first flight - AI 589 took off from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for Chennai, with a full-capacity load of passengers who were eagerly anticipating the opportunity to experience the new Air India.
Air India’s A350-900 aircraft have a three-class cabin configuration with 316 seats: 28 private Business suites with full-flat beds, 24 Premium Economy seats with extra legroom and other amenities, and 264 spacious Economy seats.
Initially, while the aircraft is deployed on domestic routes for crew familiarization and regulatory compliance purposes, passengers from Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai will have the opportunity to experience the unparalleled comfort and state-of-the-art technology of the A350 - part of the 470 new aircraft order that Air India placed less than a year ago.
The aircraft will be later deployed for long-haul flights to destinations across continents, strengthening Air India’s growing fleet of wide-body fleet, comprising its own and recently leased aircraft.
The aircraft was on static display at the recent Wings India Global Aviation Summit in Hyderabad, where the public got a first glimpse of the IFE and distinct inflight amenities that will form part of the experience once the aircraft begins its international operations.
On December 23, the first of Air India’s own 20 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, registered VT-JRA, was welcomed at IGI Airport, Delhi, flying in from the Airbus facility in Toulouse, France.
The landing of the A350 had marked the first of Air India’s record-setting 470 aircraft order – with scheduled arrival of one new aircraft every six days throughout 2024.