·
Increased
frequency from Delhi to Toronto, Seoul (Incheon), and Shanghai
·
Retrofitted
B787-8 to operate Mumbai-London (Heathrow) flights
·
Introducing
First Class on Delhi-Melbourne flights
·
New
product deployment with Premium Economy on Delhi-Tokyo and Delhi-Toronto routes
GURUGRAM : Air
India today announced it will deploy aircraft featuring new, retrofitted or
upgraded cabin interiors on additional, key international routes as part of its
Northern Summer Schedule 2026, thus adding capacity and boosting connectivity
on select long-haul routes.
The changes to Air
India’s schedule and product deployment on select international routes are as
follow.
Between February and
March 2026:
·
Effective
14 February, Air India’s Delhi-Tokyo (Haneda) operates with B787-9
aircraft, featuring a three-class cabin configuration, thus introducing Premium
Economy on the route. This deployment adds 2408 seats between Delhi and Tokyo
(Haneda) every month.
·
Starting
01 March, Delhi-Toronto frequency increases from 7x weekly to 10x
weekly.
·
Starting
29 March, Delhi-Seoul (Incheon) frequency increases from 5x weekly to 6x
weekly, and the newly launched Delhi-Shanghai flights increase from 4x
weekly to 5x weekly, thus adding 2048 seats on each of the routes every month.
From 01 July 2026:
·
Mumbai-London (Heathrow) flights will operate with a combination
of Air India’s incoming new B787-9 and retrofitted legacy B787-8 aircraft, both
featuring all-new cabin interiors. These flights will replace the currently deployed
B777-300ER on the route, which already feature upgraded cabin interiors.
·
Delhi-Melbourne daily flights will operate with Air India’s
B777-300ER featuring upgraded cabin interiors, thus introducing First Class on
the route. The aircraft features 8 suites in First Class, 40 fully flat beds in
Business Class and 280 seats in Economy Class, adding nearly 4,000 seats every
month between Delhi and Melbourne.
From 01 August 2026:
·
Bengaluru-London (Heathrow) flights will operate
with the airline’s retrofitted B787-8 aircraft, featuring new cabin interiors,
thus introducing Premium Economy on the route. With this, all Air India flights
to and from London (Heathrow) will be serviced by aircraft featuring new cabin
interiors.
·
7x
weekly flights on the Delhi-Toronto route will operate with Air India’s
incoming, new B787-9 aircraft, featuring all-new cabin interiors in a
three-class configuration and introducing Premium Economy on the route. The
remainder 3x weekly flights will continue to operate with Air India’s legacy
B777-300ER. With this, more than 50% of Air India’s North America flights will
be operated with new or upgraded cabin interiors.
·
Air
India’s flights to Birmingham from Amritsar and Delhi, and to London
(Gatwick) from Ahmedabad and Amritsar will be operated with Air India’s
legacy B777-300ER, replacing the currently deployed legacy B787-8 and
introducing First Class on these routes.
New and retrofitted
B787s
Air India began
retrofitting its legacy B787-8 last year in an exercise that will see 26 legacy
B787-8 aircraft refitted with brand-new cabin interiors custom-styled for Air
India as well as the repainting of these aircraft in the airline’s vibrant, new
livery. The first two of these retrofitted aircraft are expected to return to
service in the coming weeks, with several more to be retrofitted progressively
throughout 2026.
Additionally, Air India
expects deliveries of three new, line-fit (or made-for-Air India) B787-9 and
two line-fit A350-1000 aircraft in 2026.
Together, the expanded
deployment of new product, additional frequencies on key international routes
and steady fleet induction reflect Air India’s continued progress in building a
modern, globally competitive full-service carrier.