Air India to Operate Mumbai to Heathrow Service Exclusively with New Boeing 777s

If you have planned a trip between Mumbai and London Heathrow with Air India, there is good news for you. The airline is all set to enhance its product offering on the route. It will now be operated using the newly inducted Boeing 777s.

Air India: Product Upgrade on Mumbai-Heathrow Route

Air India connects London Heathrow to Delhi and Mumbai. The airline operates twice daily between Mumbai and Heathrow. Since October, it started deploying the former Etihad Boeing 777s on one of its two daily services. AI130/131 is being served by the newly inducted B777s.

Other daily services – AI128/129 continued to use the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. But now, Air India is set to change this scenario.

From May 15, both daily services will be exclusively served by former Etihad Boeing 777s. Since the takeover, TATA Group has been trying to upgrade the services on long haul and ultra long haul routes with better product offerings. Unlike the Boeing 787s, these jets are premium heavy and provide exceptional value to passengers.

Former EY Boeing 777 Fleet of Air India

During the privatization of Air India, the new owners were handed over a fleet of 19 Boeing 777s and 27 Dreamliners. These aircraft are victims of years of improper maintenance. With broken seats and non-functional In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) screens, these jets often disappoint passengers.

Add to that, the airline was privatized during a time when supply chain issues were at their peak. Hence, it was unable to source new seats immediately. In order to provide its passengers with a better product on long and ultra-long-haul routes, the airline decided to lease some aircraft. In 2022-end, it signed an agreement with Altavair Finance to lease six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Air India received delivery of two aircraft in 2023 and the remaining four in 2024. The airline has a history of naming its aircraft behind the cultural heritage of India. These six aircraft were named Kriya, Sadhvi, Nitya, Sarika, Dhyuti, and Tvisha. The final aircraft was delivered in February 2024.

These former Etihad Boeing 777s are premium heavy aircraft. They are configured with 8 First, 40 Business, and 280 Economy class seats. All these six aircraft are more than a decade old in age. But still, their interior product offering is far better than the Air India fleet, in which the last B787 was delivered in 2017. These aircraft have proved to be a boon for Air India. Many passengers took to social media and appreciated the new product offering of the airline.

Here is a trip report from Jangsu Aviation, showcasing the airline’s first-class onboard the newly inducted jets.

Mumbai Says Goodbye to Old Product

Mumbai is the second largest hub for Air India. It is home to many corporate travelers, who travel to Europe or North America. Witnessing the importance of Mumbai, the airline has bid goodbye to its old product on all western routes to and from the Financial Capital of India.

In Europe, the airline connects Mumbai to Heathrow. Talking about the US, it connects Mumbai to Newark EWR, New York JFK, and San Francisco. All these routes are now served by former Etihad and Delta aircraft. Similar to 6 former Etihad jets, Air India also inducted 5 former Delta B777-200LR jets.

BOM-LHR, BOM-EWR & BOM-JFK flights are operated using former Etihad B777s, while San Francisco witnesses the former Delta B777 operations. The former Delta B777 fleet comprises Delta One Suites and a Premium Economy Cabin.

In short, this means that if you are a traveler, heading from Mumbai to a European or North American city, Air India will provide you with its latest offering. You will not have to face the old and broken seats. The Airbus A350 of Air India has also entered into commercial service. On 1 May, it operated its maiden foreign flight between Delhi and Dubai. It is also anticipated to be pressed into long-haul service from September onwards.

Conclusion

From May 15, Air India will operate Mumbai to Heathrow service exclusively using the newly inducted Boeing 777 aircraft. The airline will replace the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a new product. With this, Mumbai will be exclusively served by new products, in terms of European and North American routes. Air India is undergoing a transformation and upgrading the product offering is one of the most crucial parts of the process. The freed B787 capacity will be utilized for launch of new destinations like Zurich.

What do you think of this product upgrade? Discuss in the comment section.