Air India starts using wide-body A350 aircraft for commercial purposes

Air India starts using wide-body A350 aircraft for commercial purposes

Initially, the aircraft will fly on domestic routes to familiarize the crew and ensure regulatory compliance, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.

An Air India Airbus A350-900 aircraft on its first trip to Mumbai (Image: Air India)

On January 22, the first Airbus A350-900 operated by Air India arrived at Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) in India. With the exception of Tuesday, all days of the week are planned for flight.

"Air India's inaugural flight from Bengaluru to Mumbai at 8:50 am was a warm welcome for the country's first Airbus A350-900," according to a spokesman at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

Modern technologies and the airline's new livery are included on the aircraft. In order to enhance passengers' travel experiences, CSMIA is getting ready to use it on internal routes, according to the spokeswoman.

There are three class cabin layouts on the 316-seat A350-900 aircraft: twenty-eight private business suites with full-flat mattresses, twenty-four premium economy, and two hundred and sixty economy seats.

Initially, the aircraft will fly on domestic routes to familiarize the crew and ensure regulatory compliance, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.

According to the airline, it would thereafter be used for long-haul flights to locations all over the world, bolstering Air India's fleet, which will also comprise newly leased and airline-owned aircraft. Arriving late last month from Airbus's Toulouse production plant in France, the first of Air India's 20 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, registered VT-JRA, touched down at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Air India ordered 470 new aircraft early last year, and the A350 is one of those planes that it is now adding to its inventory.