Air India Continues To Add Leased Aircraft Ahead Of Big Order

Air India is ramping up its ambitious fleet expansion plans for 2023 by reaching deals to lease another 12 aircraft, comprising narrowbodies and widebodies.

The national carrier will add six Airbus A320neos and six Boeing 777-300ERs. They are scheduled to arrive in the first half of 2023. The narrowbodies will be used on Air India’s domestic and short- and medium-haul international routes, while the 777s will be used to connect India’s major cities with international points.

These aircraft will be in addition to the deals for 30 leased jets Air India announced in September. The 30 included 25 A320neo family aircraft and five 777-200LRs, most of which will arrive in 2023. Combined, the lease agreements will see 42 aircraft entering the Air India fleet.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson says growing the carrier’s network is an essential part of its transformation plan. The airline “remain[s] committed to increasing connectivity and frequency of flights both domestically and internationally,” he says. Air India says it has an “aggressive expansion plan.”

The leases are viewed as an immediate means to rapidly expand Air India’s capacity. The leased aircraft will fill this need until new orders start to arrive. Air India is in negotiations with manufacturers for a large order.

“These additional aircraft leases will support our near-term growth even as we finalize plans to refresh and significantly grow our long-term fleet,” Wilson said.

Air India’s recent fleet moves highlight the growth agenda set by the carrier’s new owner, local conglomerate the Tata Group. The Indian government finalized the privatization of Air India and its sale to Tata in January.

The airline will also grow through mergers. Tata intends to consolidate its various airline holdings, integrating Air India with joint-venture carrier Vistara and merging LCC subsidiaries Air India Express and AirAsia India. As part of this reorganization, Singapore Airlines has taken a 25.1% stake in the enlarged Air India.

Air India still has some aircraft parked but plans to bring more of these back into service. The carrier said it has already returned 19 aircraft from long-term storage to operations and is preparing to reactivate another nine.

The carrier currently has nearly 100 aircraft in service, with 16 stored, according to the Aviation Week Network’s Fleet Discovery database.