Air India is reportedly looking to purchase more wide-body aircraft, as it looks to expand its international network.
The Star Alliance member currently operates an all-Boeing wide-body fleet and this trend looks set to continue.
“We have not added too many wide-body planes to the fleet in the last couple of years, except the induction of Dreamliners from the 2005 order. We are now considering expanding this fleet as well by adding some long range Boeing aircraft going forward”, said an airline source quoted in the The Economic Times.
A final decision will be made soon. Air India is said to be considering both the B787 and the B777 as viable options. It will not, however, be opting for the B747-8, to replace the five B747-400s it currently operates.
The airline already has a backlog of wide-body aircraft that have yet to be delivered. While it expects to take delivery of six B787-8s and three B777-300ERs by 2018, this has been deemed insufficient to the company’s long-term expansion plan.
“This will not suffice as we will be adding a number of destinations in the international network and hence require a good number of aircraft to meet the purpose,” said the airline’s source.
In terms of new destinations, Air India has its sights on serving more US cities, including Washington DC and Houston. Sweden has also been earmarked as a possible European destination, as well as several points in Africa too.
For more information, visit airindia.in
Clement Huang
