Air India’s $400M Fleet Upgrade: New Cabins, Routes & Timelines

Air India's $400 million fleet retrofitting initiative has refurbished 50% of its fleet with new interiors, including three-class cabins (Business, Premium Economy, Economy), new lavatories, and rebranded interiors. The Tata Group-owned airline will have 27 A320neo retrofits completed by Q3 2025, with the first already in service.

 

Milestone highlights:

 

Boeing 787s: Retrosfitting began in April 2025, with 2-3 aircraft remade each month; all 27 Dreamliners back in service by October 2025.

 

Boeing 777s: Complete overhauls delayed until early 2026 due to seat availability issues, but half-life overhauls (paint, carpets) proceed in 2025.

 

Vistara merger: Retrofiting/re-painting 70 old Vistara aircraft within 18 months.

 

The makeover fits Air India's 5-year turnaround plan, enhancing customer experience and augmenting expanded routes like Delhi-Nairobi (4x weekly). Short-term ad-hoc suspensions (Kochi-London, Mumbai-Melbourne) are applied to allow upgrades.

 

 Sources: Air India, Business Standard, Aviation A2Z