Air India takes delivery of first line-fit Boeing 787-9 in over eight years

Tata Group-owned Air India has taken delivery of its first line-fit Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, marking the airline’s first induction of a newly built Dreamliner in more than eight years, PTI reported on Thursday, citing an airline official.

The aircraft’s title transfer was completed on January 7 at Boeing’s Everett factory in Seattle, the official said.

The aircraft is expected to arrive in India in the coming days following inspections by the country’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

It is also the first line-fit Dreamliner to be inducted by Air India since its privatisation in January 2022. Line-fit aircraft are manufactured to an airline’s specifications at the production line.

Configured in economy, premium economy and business class, the 787-9 is Air India’s first wide-body delivery and the 52nd overall aircraft received from the 220 Boeing jets ordered in 2023.

The last line-fit Dreamliner inducted by Air India was in October 2017, when the airline was under government ownership.

Air India Express, the group’s low-cost arm, has already taken delivery of 51 narrow-body Boeing 737-8 aircraft, including its first line-fit plane inducted in late December.

After the Tata Group took control of Air India in 2022, the airline placed orders for 350 Airbus and 220 Boeing aircraft. Of the Airbus order, six A350 wide-body aircraft have already joined Air India’s fleet.

Air India currently operates 26 Boeing 787-8s and six 787-9s that previously belonged to Vistara, which was merged into the airline. The Air India Group now has more than 300 aircraft, including 185 with Air India and the remainder with Air India Express.

Meanwhile, domestic carrier IndiGo received its first Airbus A321XLR aircraft at New Delhi airport, becoming the first Indian airline to induct the long-range variant of the A321neo.

IndiGo said the aircraft will be deployed on non-stop services to Athens from Delhi and Mumbai starting later this month.

Of the airline’s total order of 40 A321XLRs, nine are expected to be delivered during the 2026 calendar year.

The A321XLR has a range of up to 8,700 km and features a dual-class configuration with 12 business class seats and 183 economy seats.

“This is an important milestone as we prepare to redefine long-haul travel for India,” IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said in a statement.

Airbus said the aircraft would help open mid- to long-haul routes previously unreachable by single-aisle aircraft.