New Delhi, 08 January (H.S.): Tata Group-led Air India finally received its first line-fit Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on Thursday, marking the first such aircraft added to its fleet in over eight years. Following inspection by the US Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the widebody jet is expected to arrive in India within the next few days.
Air India formally took delivery of the Dreamliner at Boeing's Everett factory in Seattle, USA, on January 7. This marks the airline's first line-fit Dreamliner since privatization in January 2022—the last such delivery occurred in October 2017 when Air India remained government-owned. In aviation parlance, line-fit denotes equipment, systems, or features installed during the manufacturing assembly process, rather than retrofitted later.
The aircraft represents the 52nd of 220 Boeing planes ordered by Air India in 2023. Air India Express has already incorporated 51 narrow-body Boeing 737-8 aircraft, finalized by late December. Post-Tata acquisition in January 2022, Air India placed landmark orders for 350 Airbus and 220 Boeing aircraft; six A350s have already joined the fleet.Air India inherited Vistara's 26 B787-8s and six B787-9s following their merger.
The Air India group now operates over 300 aircraft, with 185 under Air India and the balance with Air India Express. Nearly a dozen of the airline's older Dreamliners are slated for refurbishment and return to service by 2026.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
