A350 is centerpiece of Air India's long-haul strategy: Airbus India chief

Remi Maillard says first A350 will be delivered before end of this year; it only takes 11 days to qualify an A320 plane pilot into an A350 pilot

The A350 wide-body plane is the centrepiece of Air India’s strategy for long-haul flights and its delivery will begin this year, Rémi Maillard, president and managing director of Airbus India and South Asia, said on Tuesday.

Air India has placed an estimated $70-billion order with Airbus for 250 planes— 210 A320neo family aircraft (which includes 140 A320neo planes and 70 A321neo planes) and 40 A350 aircraft (which includes 34 A350-1000 aircraft and six A350-900 aircraft).

“It is interesting that Air India has chosen A350 in the 1000 configuration, which is the longer range one, and that makes A350 arguably the centrepiece of the Air India long-haul strategy,” Maillard told Business Standard in an interview.

Air India’s order marks an “emphatic return” of Airbus in India’s wide-body market, he said, adding that it is a significant validation of the aircraft maker’s leadership position in this market.

The Indian wide-body market is dominated by American giant Boeing. The current wide body fleet of Air India and Vistara – India’s two full-service carriers – is made up of Boeing planes only. Along with 40 A350s from Airbus, Air India has ordered 20 B787s and B777-9 planes from Boeing.

Maillard said the first A350 will be delivered to Air India before the end of this year. “We are anticipating the entry of the A350 in India and in the Air India fleet, including the pilot training activities, the maintenance training, and the provisioning of spare parts. It, an A350-900, will come before the end of the year,” he added.

The combination of the two A350 types (A350-900 and A350-1000) offers the highest commonality and optimal flexibility when it comes to planning the flight network, Maillard noted.

Asked when the deliveries of the A320neo family planes will begin, he said: “It is the privilege of the customer to disclose the delivery schedule.”

Airbus has moved from demand to supply pressures and the “uncertainty along the supply chain that we are facing are likely to continue for some time”, Maillard said, adding that the supply chain situation will remain difficult in 2023.

Airbus has taken the right steps to navigate this complex environment and to secure the on-time delivery of this Air India order, Maillard noted.

Maillard said it only takes 11 days to qualify an A320 plane pilot into an A350 pilot. This is due to the commonality between the two planes, he said.