Air India Reveals First International Destination With Airbus A350

Finally, the wait is over. Air India has revealed the first international destination to witness the operations of its new widebody aircraft – the Airbus A350. Since their arrival in India, these jets have been operating domestic flights for crew familiarization. As per the DGCA norm, a new aircraft is needed to operate 100 sectors before flying internationally. Air India has already flown 100 sectors with the A350.

Foreign Bound: Air India A350 Heads to Dubai

The Airbus A350 is a new aircraft type for Air India and holds a special place for the airline. Hence, the airline has dedicated a page on its website for A350 operations. Here, it updates the information regarding the A350 flight operations.

 

Now, Air India has revealed the international schedule of the Airbus A350. From May 1, it will deploy the A350 on the Delhi-Dubai-Delhi sector. Air India currently operates three daily and one 4X weekly service on this route. The Airbus A350 will be utilized for AI995/996 rotation, which operates daily and is currently being operated using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

The freed Boeing 787 capacity is expected to be deployed on the Delhi to Doha route between 1 May and 31 August. Air India currently operates the Doha service with an Airbus A321. From September 1, the Airbus A350 will stop flying from Dubai, allowing Boeing 787 to takeover again. This hints that the airline can press the A350 into long-haul commercial operations by September month.

 

Air India currently has a fleet of 4 Airbus A350s, of which one is lying idle at Delhi Airport. The remaining three are operating commercial domestic flights on a daily basis. The first A350 was delivered on December 23, 2023, and entered into commercial service on January 22, 2024. The second A350 entered into commercial service on Feb 15, 13 days after its delivery. Currently, two of these aircraft are based at Bengaluru Airport and operate flights to Chennai, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad from there. Once a week, the aircraft operates to Delhi for scheduled maintenance.

With A350 Comes New Services

Along with the international operations launch of the Airbus A350, the airline has plans to enhance services & offerings. First of all, with this launch, the new cabin crew uniforms are expected to be rolled out across the airline network & fleet. Recently, the airline received feedback on the new uniforms from its staff. There are some issues like quick color fading of the fabric, which the airline is addressing. Soon, the production process of 8000 cabin crew uniforms will kick off.

 

Other than the uniforms, the airline will also roll out the new Amenity kits in the Airbus A350 cabin. In January, the airline revealed the new amenity kits, Chinaware cutlery, and glassware and said that they would be rolled out across the network upon the international launch of the A350. It will be offering different amenity kits for the First, Business, Premium Economy, and Economy Class passengers.

The Amenity kits have been designed by an Italian design brand – Ferragamo. Air India will become the world’s first airline to have amenity kits designed by this renowned brand. First & business-class passengers will get the loungewear from TUMI.

Air India Airbus A350 Cabin Product

Since these jets were initially destined for Russian flag carrier Aeroflot, they have the Aeroflot cabin. Air India never changed the cabin seats and configuration because of the ongoing supply chain disruptions. However, at Toulouse, the airline conducted a soft refurbishment of these aircraft. For example, the color of the seat fabric was changed to Air India Red Color. Logos of Air India were included after removing the Aeroflot ones.

 

The software behind the IFE has been changed as well. The IFE showcases the new in-flight safety video of Air India, representing the Indian culture. All cabins of the A350 are equipped with a uniform IFE: Panasonic eX3.

The cabin includes 28 Business Class seats with doors for enhanced privacy. With a touch of a button, the seat can be converted to a lie-flat bed. In the middle, there are 24 Premium Economy Class seats. These seats are spread across 3 rows in a layout of 2-4-2, offering more cushion and increased legroom. On the back side of the aircraft, there are 264 Economy class seats in a 3-3-3 configuration.

Have you ever traveled in the Air India A350? How was your experience? Discuss in the comments section.

Source Credits