Air India, owned by the Tata Group, said on Tuesday that it would spend $400 million to refurbish the interiors of 67 planes, or more than half its fleet, as part of a multi-million dollar transformation of the former state-run carrier.
Since taking control of the carrier in 2022, Tata has spent millions of dollars on ordering hundreds of new jets and changing the carrier’s logo, branding and plane livery, among other upgrades to the carrier’s operations.
Now it is refitting the interiors of older planes — 27 narrowbody Airbus A320neo and 40 widebody Boeing 787s and 777s — in partnership with companies including Astronics, Thales and RTX’s Collins Aerospace, it said.
Air India did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request to clarify these companies’ involvement in the programme and for a breakdown of its $400-million outlay.
The first narrowbody was sent for an upgrade on Monday and Air India plans to upgrade three and four planes per month, it said.
Its total fleet currently stands at 128 aircraft, per its website. The Air India group has ordered 470 jets from Airbus and Boeing.
The group includes low-cost carriers Air India Express and Air Asia India. From November, Air India will also operate planes of Vistara, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Group.
(Reporting by Varun Hebbalalu in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
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