Air India Begins 787 New Era

Air India is progressing with its new era, announcing an update to a major US$400 million fleet retrofit programme.

The move, which is being undertaken in a bid to reinforce the airline’s commitment to delivering a flying experience that can be deemed world-class to passengers, is underway.

The flag-carrier said that its legacy 787-8, the first of 26 aircraft VT-ANT, flew to a facility in Victorville, California, last month, where work will now be conducted on giving the plane a new lease of life.

While this represents the first aircraft, a second one is already scheduled to head towards this same facility in October 2025. The hope is that if all goes smoothly and thus no delays are encountered, the planes will both return to service in time for the festive period this year.

Air India also hopes that the steady schedule outlined for the retrofit programme on the 787-8 fleet will be completed by mid-2027, a 2-year process from start to finish.

The move will see the introduction of a new three-class interior with Business Class, Premium Economy, and Economy Class seats. The brand new seats in each cabin will also come with all the latest amenities, making them top of the line in their class.

Air India points towards the advanced inflight entertainment systems which will be installed alongside new curtains, upholstery, lavatories, galleys and carpeting.

The move should give the Air India 787 product a new feel and align with the overall business’s goal of turning around its fortunes after years of backlash and poor customer reception to its product.

After the 787 retrofit, there’s also the intention to move 13 of the legacy Boeing 777-300ER jets into the facility for an overhaul, this to be completed across an almost two-year period concluding in the last quarter of 2028.

However, due to ongoing supply chain challenges, the timeline for the completion of these programs has shifted, with the availability of seats causing pressure not just for airlines completing the retrofit of their aircraft but also for planemakers attempting to kit out new planes for delivery.

Air India Confirms Other Upgrades

A focus will not just rest on the seat upgrades across the 787-8 fleet; additionally, there’ll be a broader Reliability Enhancement Programme involving the avionics and other critical components.

The flag-carrier says the move will bring the 26 legacy 787-8 Dreamliners up to the latest industry standards and also improve their reliability.

Air India says this part of the programme will see the analysis of maintenance and configuration records that’ll then be followed by the implementation of modifications based on service information bulletins from Boeing.

Looking ahead, this will be done to mitigate prospective operational disruptions for not just Air India but also its customer base, who may be affected moving forward.

Air India will also take the time to complete seven heavy D-Checks, which are a thorough maintenance procedure to ensure the jets will be cleared to return to service moving forward at the highest standard, this occurring at Victorville.