Air India to deploy new Dreamliner for int'l service from Feb

New Delhi: Air India will deploy its new Boeing 787-9 plane, also the first Dreamliner to join the fleet after privatisation, for international long-haul service from February.

On January 7, Air India completed the title transfer of the first line fit Dreamliner at the Boeing's Everett factory in Seattle, US, and the aircraft landed in Delhi on January 11.

Generally, line fit refers to an aircraft specifically made for a particular airline. The last line fit Dreamliner that was acquired by Air India was in October 2017 when the carrier was under the government ownership.

"The new Boeing 787-9 is expected to enter international, long-haul commercial service in February 2026," the airline said in a release.

The loss-making Air India, acquired by Tata Group in January 2022, expects to induct five more wide-body planes -- A350-1000s and B787-9s -- this year.

Air India has placed orders for 350 Airbus and 220 Boeing planes. Of the Airbus order, six wide-body A350s have already been inducted into the Air India fleet and 51 narrow-body B737-8s are with Air India Express.

Besides, Air India's legacy B787-8s are undergoing retrofits. Many of these aircraft are scheduled to complete the process and return to service with refreshed nose-to-tail refit in 2026.

"By the end of this year, nearly 60 per cent of our wide-body fleet will have modern interiors," the release said.

Air India has 26 B787-8s and six B787-9s of erstwhile Vistara, which was merged with the airline.

Currently, Air India Group has over 300 planes, including 185 aircraft with Air India and the remaining ones with Air India Express.