Air India, which is part of the Tata Group, got its first big airplane, the Airbus A350, on Saturday. The plane traveled from France to Delhi.
In India, people were very happy to welcome this new airplane. Monica Batra Vaidya, the experienced pilot, was inside the big airplane.
This large plane will begin working in January 2024. At first, it will fly within the country to help train pilots and cabin crew. Later, it will be used for flights to other countries.
Air India became the first Indian airline
Right now, Air India has 116 airplanes. Out of these, 49 are big airplanes called ‘wide body.’
Air India is the first Indian airline to have these kinds of airplanes. In 2012, Air India was also the first Indian airline to have Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes.
India's first @Airbus A350-900 has come home in the bold, new Air India livery, and it received a grand welcome at @DelhiAirport.
It is touchdown of a new Air India. For a new, resurgent India.#AI350 #AirIndia #FlyAI #ThisIsNewAirIndia pic.twitter.com/V1vKk6m81V
— Air India (@airindia) December 23, 2023
316 seats and three category luxurious cabin
Air India will tell more about the A350 airplane soon. The big boss, Campbell Wilson, says it’s a special day for all the airline workers.
The Airbus A350-900 has 316 seats and three different sections inside. These sections were made by Collins Aerospace.
264 economy class seats in the plane
The Airbus A350 has 28 seats for important people, 24 seats for a bit more comfort, and 264 seats for everyone else.
The company says all seats have screens for watching shows and movies. Air India ordered 20 of these big planes, and 5 more will come by March 2024.
Manish Malhotra designed a new dress
Wilson mentioned that a new uniform for the airline’s ground staff and Air India Express employees will be available soon.
This fresh uniform was created by Manish Malhotra and was first introduced by Air India on December 12. The airline has also made this uniform available for its pilot crew.
Air India had changed the order
Air India changed the order for 250 airplanes from Airbus. Now, they will get more A321 Neo planes.
Originally, they were supposed to get 210 smaller A320 planes, which included 140 A320 Neo and 70 A321 Neo.
The other 40 were bigger A350 planes, which had six A350-900 and 34 A350-1000.
New brand people also created
Air India recently began using its new logo on social media and the website. They declared a change from ‘Old Air India’ to ‘New Air India’.
You can now see the new look of Air India on social media platforms like X and Instagram.
People at airports around the country also noticed this change at Air India counters.
Loan taken from SMBC for Airbus aircraft
Japan’s SMBC recently told that Air India borrowed $120 million from them.
They borrowed this money to buy big airplanes. With this money, the company will buy big airplanes called A350-900 from Airbus.
