Air India Is Reportedly Leasing Six Boeing 777s For North American Operations

Simple Flying

By Gaurav Joshi

Published Aug 8, 2022

The airline wants to expand its offering to North American destinations.

Before the Tatas, Air India's pricing and booking process were not tech-driven. Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying

Air India has seen significant changes in the last six months as a private airline. The airline recently made news for its plans of bringing back grounded widebodies and increasing flights to Vancouver. And now, it has emerged that it is eyeing more 777s for immediate use for its North American operations.

Six additional 777s

Air India is reportedly planning to lease six Boeing 777 airplanes in the next few months to double down on flight frequencies to North America. According to Hindustan Times, the aircraft will be leased for two years and are expected to arrive by October. They will almost immediately be deployed for non-stop flights to the US and Canada.

Air India Boeing 777 — Photo: Getty Images

The primary reason for the decision is said to be the substandard interiors of its existing airplanes. Air India has had to face multiple issues on long-haul flights due to unserviceable seats unfit for passengers.

HT quotes a person familiar with the matter as saying,

“Taking into account the impact on the airline operations, it has been decided that the airline will lease six B777 to operate its ultra-long-haul flights.

The aircraft are set to arrive by October and will be operated in addition to the current aircraft...”

Demand for direct flights to the US and Canada has skyrocketed in recent times, with the COVID pandemic becoming less severe. The leased aircraft will increase the frequency of AI's existing North American flights and possibly add more destinations.

The airline has faced several issues due to unserviceable seats on many of its widebody planes. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Lack of active widebody hindering expansion

Direct flights to the US also remain a high priority for the carrier. Air India has not been able to add more destinations in the US, despite strong demand for such flights. At the Future Flying Forum held last year, Simple Flying spoke with UK-based Rishi Jain of Jain Aviation Consultants regarding Air India's US potential.

Jain said that Air India is desperate to add more North American cities and is interested in flying to LAX, Seattle, Dallas or Houston, and Boston for future growth. But right now, they don't have the aircraft to do it. Many of the carrier's airplanes desperately need refurbishment and haven't seen any upgrade in years.

Massive fleet restructuring

The news of leasing additional 777s for long-haul flights comes even as the airline prepares to sell all three of its Boeing 777-200LR airplanes, which are less fuel efficient than the -300ER variant.

In the meantime, Air India will prepare its remaining grounded widebody planes by giving them the required technical upgrades to be ready for operations next year.

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In the long term, the airline is expected to primarily rely on the Airbus A350 aircraft for its widebody needs, for which it is believed to have almost finalized an offer with Airbus.

What do you make of Air India's decision to lease additional 777s? Please let us know in the comment section below.

Source: Hindustan Times