 "Air India to receive remaining 20 leased A320neo aircraft by August 2024")
Air India received its first leased A320neo plane this week and the remaining 20 leased A320neos will be received by August next year, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) Campbell Wilson said on Friday.
In September 2022, the Tata Group-led airline announced it is leasing 21 A320neos and 4 A321neos to enhance its flight operations.
This is separate from the massive 470-plane order the airline had placed in February 2023.
“This week saw the arrival of yet another aircraft – the first of 21 A320neos (VT-RTF) from the 25 narrow bodies we committed to leasing late last year. Four new A321neos from this batch are already in service, with the remaining twenty A320neos progressively arriving between now and August 2024," Wilson told employees in a message, which was reviewed by Business Standard.
In February, Air India placed an order for 470 planes, with 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. This represents the world’s second-largest single-tranche aircraft purchase. The Boeing order includes 190 B737 MAX, 20 B787s, and 10 B777s. The Airbus order comprises 210 A320 family aircraft and 40 A350 planes.
Air India has already acquired the first A350 plane from Airbus and it will be put for flight operations in December this year.
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“We also took delivery of our second A350 (VT-JRB), which is now undergoing livery changes and other modifications in Toulouse before arriving in New Delhi in January 2024,” Wilson added.
The A350, B777, and B787 are wide-body aircraft with larger fuel tanks. They can cover long distances, such as India-North America routes.
He also commended the Risk Monitoring and Fraud Prevention unit of the airline for the work they have done in preventing fraudulent transactions. "Thanks to their vigilance and close liaison with airport staff, they have prevented revenue loss of over 3cr in the last 18 months. Airlines are a high-profile target for fraudsters, whether it be attempts to use stolen credit cards on our websites, to fraudulently claim frequent flier miles, or other scams," Wilson noted.
"Erstwhile Air India was somewhat of an easy target in the past but, as we completely modernise our systems, this is no longer the case – and with our continued investment in state-of-the-art capabilities, we will increasingly be able to turn the tables on criminals," Wilson added.
As of August 1, Air India had 74 Airbus planes and 53 Boeing aircraft in its fleet, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
The Tata Group assumed control of Air India in January the previous year. In 2022-23, Air India’s net loss increased by 19.16 per cent to Rs 11,387.96 crore. Earlier this year, Air India unveiled its new logo and livery, featuring red, gold, and violet colours.