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Air India to reactivate all widebodies by 1Q23

Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l) has announced that it will reactivate its entire fleet of widebody aircraft by the first quarter of 2023 as travel demand picks up in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Air India's widebody fleet currently stands at 43 aircraft, of which 33 are operational. This is a significant improvement from 28 aircraft that the airline was operating till recently," the carrier told the Press Trust of India news agency.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows the Indian flag carrier operates twenty-seven B787-8s (of which six are currently grounded), thirteen B777-300(ER)s (three grounded), and three B777-200(LR)s (all active). However, the -200(LR)s are up for sale.

Following the privatisation of the carrier and its reacquisition by Tata Sons, Air India is reportedly in talks with both Airbus and Boeing about a large order covering all segments of the fleet, including widebody aircraft. In spite of expectations, the airline did not announce any deals during the recent 2022 Farnborough Air Show.

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Air India plots network expansion and “multiple hubs”

Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l) will open up new hubs across the country in the coming years as part of a strategy of both domestic and international expansion, according to its general manager for commercial strategy and planning, Purnima Nerurkar.

In private hands since the Tata Sons conglomerate bought it in January, Air India currently has it main base in Delhi Int'l and other bases in Bangalore Int'l, Chennai, Hyderabad Int'l, Kolkata Int'l, and Mumbai Int'l, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.

It now aims to be “the largest hub carrier in the region” by opening a number of new regional hubs across the country, Nerurkar said at the recent Routes Asia 2022 forum in Da Nang.

“Air India has a strategy already in place where we have a hub at Delhi for all our long-haul and our short-haul markets. This is expected to grow because, going forward, our management’s thought and vision is to [...] create several hubs in India, which would facilitate growth from...

India's Alliance Air takes first ATR42-600

Alliance Air (India) (9I, Mumbai Int'l) has taken delivery of its first ATR42-600 after VT-UDA (msn 1608) was ferried from Toulouse Blagnac to Delhi Int'l via Heraklion, Cairo Int'l, and Dubai World Central over the course of July 30-August 2, 2022.

The Indian regional specialist, formerly a subsidiary of Air India and now a standalone state-owned carrier following the privatisation of the former parent, ordered two ATR42-600s in February 2022. The aircraft is on lease from TrueNoord and will be used on services to the hot-and-high Himalayan airports of Shimla and Kulu.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that Alliance Air also operates eighteen ATR72-600s (with two more due from TrueNoord) and a single Hindustan Aeronautics-built Do228-200. It plans to add a second domestic turboprop shortly.