Air India’s Best Passenger Experience: New Airbus A350s Will Make US Debut On November 1

Air India currently has six Airbus A350-900s, each originally destined for Aeroflot. As they average just a year old, the hard product quality is regarded by many as significantly better than the airline’s other widebody fleet, at least before they’re refurbished.

They coexist with 54 other widebodies (the Boeing 787-8, 777-200LR, and 777-300ER), some of which are usually parked, reducing utilization. A350-1000s, 787-9s (some from Vistara), and 777-9s are coming. ‘Improving’ is a word that reasonably describes Air India’s changes.

Air India’s A350s: a summary

The most recent A350 delivery occurred in May 2024. According to Flightradar24, VT-JRI flew from Toulouse to Delhi on May 12, arriving in Air India’s main hub the following day. It entered service on May 21 from Delhi to Hyderabad.

VT-JRI and the other five aircraft have 316 seats, making them Air India’s highest-capacity equipment after the first-class-equipped 777-300ER (328 to 342 seats). The A350’s configuration is as follows:

• 28 enclosed suites (1-2-1); the same number of business seats as its ex-Delta 777-200LRs, but more than its 787-8s (its lowest-premium widebodies) and fewer than its other twin-aisles
• 24 premium economy seats (2-4-2)
• 264 economy seats (3-3-3)

Entered service over eight months ago

Air India’s A350s entered service on January 22, 2024. For crew training reasons ahead of more activity and longer flights, they only operated domestically until April 30. The first international service was to Dubai on May 1.

Photo: Air India

It carried the first long-haul passengers on June 20, when it flew to London Gatwick ahead of the Farnborough Air Show. It was positioned empty to the event before returning to Gatwick and India on June 24. The official long-haul service was to London Heathrow on September 1.

A350 routes this winter

Northern carriers, including Air India, switch to winter schedules on October 27 based on IATA slot seasons. They’ll be maintained until March 29. Examining this period shows the following routes. Notice that Dubai will not see the A350 from November and Bengaluru and Mumbai from January, with the type increasingly flown long-haul instead—their natural environment.

• Delhi-Bengaluru: double daily A350 until December 31 (leaves at 03:00/08:00 outbound, 07:45/12:20 inbound)
• Delhi-Dubai: daily until October 31 (20:45 out, 00:15 back)
• Delhi-London Heathrow: double daily (02:35/07:30 out, 08:45/13:30 back); all airlines have nine Delhi-Heathrow flights this winter
• Delhi-New York JFK: daily from November 1 (02:30 out, 10:55 back; replacing the 777-300ER)
• Delhi-Hyderabad: daily (16:15 out, 19:45 back)
• Delhi-Newark: daily from January 2 (02:30 out, 11:15 back; replacing the 777-200ER/777-300ER)
• Delhi-Mumbai: daily until December 31 (14:00 out, 18:00 back)

Source: Simple Flying