Air India group has decided to add 100 planes to its current fleet of 132 in the next four years. AI chairman Ashwani Lohani said, "By March 31, 2020, AI group will have 232 planes. While nine aircraft are from the prevous order, the rest will be new orders for leasing planes. We are going to grow aggressively and fight for leadership across segments."
The parent company has currently 41 wide-body Boeing aircraft including 747, 777 and 787. "We will induct 14 more wide-body aircraft. By the end of this year when we get some Dreamliners, we will add Delhi-Madrid and have direct connectivity between India and Spain. This will be a first for India," Lohani said. AI will take 40 more Airbus A-320s on lease for the erstwhile Indian Airlines that works on domestic and nearby international routes. It currently has 66 Airbus family narrow-body planes.
AI's regional arm, Alliance Air, currently has 12 turboprops and five of them will return by the year-end, leaving it with seven planes. "We will order 35 more turboprops," said Lohani. "AI Express, which currently has 17 Boeing 737s, will get 18 more B-737s," the chairman said. He also added the airline will simultaneously start working on crew recruitment and finalising other logistics for the proposed fleet expansion.
