Aircraft shortage has been a major setback to Air India’s expansion plans, revival goals, transformation journey, and revenues since late Ratan Tata bought back the airline with its outdated fleet. Making the derelict, debt-ridden airline take off to great heights in full glory again proved to be more than a monumental task over time. Despite a multibillion-dollar order placed in February 2023 for a new wide-body fleet, global supply chain issues and geo-political tensions continued to delay new aircraft delivery, as well as retrofitting of the existing aircraft.
As they say every dark cloud has a silver lining, Air India welcomed 2026 with a brand-new B787-9 Dreamliner having arrived to New Delhi from Seattle on 11 January. The first Dreamliner, in the series of 20 Boeing 787-9s, will be inducted into long-haul passenger service in February, and 2026 will see a total of 6 new widebody deliveries including two A350-1000s, according to a media briefing from the Tata Group.
“The induction of an advanced Boeing aircraft into Air India’s fleet is like the dawn of a new beginning. The brand-new B787-9 is not just the first line-fit Dreamliner, it is a new hope for Air India to reclaim its dominance in the nonstop flights service corridor, like from USA to India. Inarguably, aircraft shortage is the principal reason for continued suspension of Air India flights to Washington Dulles IAD since 01 September 2025,” said Sourav Agarwal, Senior Editor at IndianEagle.com.
In addition to a Boeing 787-9, Air India took phased delivery of six widebody A350-900s as part of its historic Airbus order including 34 A350-1000s. The safest and best aircraft in Air India’s long-haul fleet, A350-900s have stabilized operations for nonstop flights from New Delhi to New York JFK, Newark EWR, and London Heathrow. Air India’s A350 flights with Premium Economy seats, best-in-class amenities, superlative inflight service, and choicest food have earned rave reviews from passengers traveling between New York and New Delhi.
B777-200LRs leased from Delta Airlines and B777-300ERs leased from Etihad could not survive the pitfalls of Pakistan’s airspace closure, such as rerouting of long-haul flights, refueling stops in Europe, longer travel time, stretched crew duty hours, additional fuel intake, and increased operational overheads. That’s why Air India decided to operate two key routes – San Francisco to Mumbai and Bengaluru – with short layovers in the US and/or India, starting in March this year.
