Farewell to the Queen: Air India’s Boeing 747 Fleet is Now Sold

In a sad but expected news, the entire Boeing 747 fleet of Air India has now been sold. The queen of the skies has taken its final bow. The last four Boeing 747 aircraft, which were parked at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport have been sold via a UK-based firm. It is unlikely that these aircraft would fly again.

This news coincides with the first international destination announcement of the Air India A350 fleet. This signifies the upcoming of new era of Air India. 

Goodbye Queen: Air India Boeing 747 Fleet Sold

Air India had a fleet of four Boeing 747-400 aircraft. These aircraft, VT-EVA, VT-ESO, VT-ESP, and VT-EVB were named Agra, Khajuraho, Ajanta, and Velha Goa. They were delivered to Air India between 1993 and 1996. Since the inception of the COVID pandemic in 2020, these aircraft have been parked at Mumbai CSMIA.

 

Soon after the privatization of Air India, many Indian aviation enthusiasts were expecting the TATA Group to relaunch the Boeing 747 operations, as the aircraft had been sitting idle since the pandemic period. But the new promoters were quick to dismiss these expectations. Soon after the takeover, the airline started shifting the Boeing 747 pilots to its twin-engined Boeing widebody fleet of B777 and B787 jets.

Later, it hired a UK-based firm named Skytech AIC to help the airline sell its Boeing 747 fleet. This appointment came 10 months after the airline’s privatization. Air India offered the aircraft for immediate delivery. Skytech AIC specializes in the fields of aircraft marketing, finance, and sourcing.

 

As first pointed out by livefromalounge.com, the status of these Boeing 747s on the Air India website is currently being shown as sold. The Pratt & Whitney 4056 engines were excluded from the sale.

A Close Look at New Owner

There is no official information, about who bought this aircraft. But a quick sneak peek at planespotters.net would tell you that one of these aircraft has been sold to an American firm. The Boeing 747 registered as VT-EVA has been sold to AerSale Incorporation. This aircraft has been parked at Mumbai Airport since 2021. On 9 April, the transaction was concluded.

 

According to its website, Aersale Inc. is a company specializing in broader services including MRO, Aircraft Sale & leasing. This company also provides comprehensive airframe spare parts support. Since the Boeing 747 is now out of production, there is a limited availability of spare parts for this aircraft for current operators like Lufthansa.

It has various offices in the United States, Ireland, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Given the status of the Boeing 747 fleet of Air India, it is highly unlikely that they will fly again. Recently, Korean carrier Asiana Airlines also operated the final commercial flight with the Boeing 747 aircraft. There are very limited operators of this aircraft type now. Lufthansa, Air China, and Korean Air are some of those.

 

Air India & Boeing 747 History

Air India was already a progressive airline when it became the first Asian airline to induct the Boeing 707 in the year 1960. In 1971, the airline acquired the first-ever Boeing 747 named Emperor Ashoka. This marked the airline’s entry into the widebody market segment. This arrival coincided with the branding “Palace in the Sky”. The legendary vision of JRD Tata deserves all the credit for this.

In its entire history, Air India operated a fleet of 31 Boeing 747s, including some owned and others wet-leased. In late 1980s, Air India welcomed the first Boeing 747-300 variant. To increase passenger capacity, the airline inducted the 747-400 variant in 1993.

 

The Boeing 747 had a long operational history with Air India. It was often used by the Government for VVIP travel as ‘Air India One’. Now, the Government of India owns two modified Boeing 777s for the same purpose.

For commercial use, the airline deployed them on long-haul international routes. Due to its high passenger capacity, it served the London Heathrow and JFK markets for a long time. Furthermore, Air India used these jets for Hajj flights to and from Saudi Arabia. During the suspension of Jet Airways operations, there was a significant capacity cut on domestic routes such as Mumbai to Delhi & Delhi to Kolkata. Air India deployed the Boeing 747s on these routes to mitigate the capacity.

Have you ever traveled in the Air India Boeing 747 fleet? How was your experience? Discuss in the comments section.

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