India’s first Airbus A350 landed at Delhi’s IGI Airport on Dec 23, 2023. Registered as VT-JRA and operating as AI-350, the A350-900 flew in from Toulouse. This is the first aircraft in the new branding which was unveiled in August, 2023. This is also the first of the 20 A350-900s on order for Air India. The first six would come in the Aeroflot configuration – for whom the aircraft were made and subsequently not delivered due to sanctions. Five more aircraft will be delivered in India by March 2024.
The aircraft will be positioned at Hyderabad’s Begumpet airport for Wings India which begins January 18, 2024. The first aircraft will start commercial operations from January 22, 2024 and will be based at Bengaluru. Initially, while the aircraft is deployed on domestic routes for crew familiarisation and regulatory compliance purposes, passengers from Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai will have the opportunity to fly and experience the unparalleled comfort and state-of-the-art technology of the Airbus A350.
The aircraft will be deployed on below flights as per the airline.
| Flight No. | Days of Operation | Sector | Departure | Arrival |
| AI589 | All, except Tuesdays | Bengaluru-Mumbai | 0705 Hrs | 0850 Hrs |
| AI589 | All, except Tuesdays | Mumbai-Chennai | 1005 Hrs | 1205 Hrs |
| AI589 | All, except Tuesdays | Chennai-Bengaluru | 1320 Hrs | 1430 Hrs |
| AI587 | All, except Tuesdays | Bengaluru-Chennai | 1600 Hrs | 1710 Hrs |
| AI587 | All, except Tuesdays | Chennai-Hyderabad | 1830 Hrs | 1940 Hrs |
| AI587 | All, except Tuesdays | Hyderabad-Bengaluru | 2110 Hrs | 2220 Hrs |
| AI868 | Tuesdays | Bengaluru-Delhi | 0740 Hrs | 1030 Hrs |
| AI869 | Tuesdays | Delhi-Bengaluru | 1900 Hrs | 2150 Hrs |
The aircraft will operate Bengaluru – Mumbai – Chennai – Bengaluru – Chennai – Hyderabad – Bengaluru on all days except Tuesday. On TUesdays, it will operate Bengaluru – Delhi – Bengaluru with a long ground time in Delhi – when it could possibly be used for maintenance and other training on the aircraft for Delhi base Air India staff.
The aircraft offers only one way flights between Bengaluru and Mumbai, Mumbai and Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru & Chennai and Hyderabad. It is a clear indication that the airline wants to quickly add flight cycles for the crew before certification and its deployment on foreign routes. The Bengaluru based rotation could either be an indication of things to come with long haul flights from Bengaluru with the A350 or the lack of space at both Delhi and Mumbai, with grounded planes occupying valuable space at these airports.
Air India’s A350-900 aircraft come in a three-class cabin configuration with 316 seats designed by Collins Aerospace: 28 private Business Class suites with full-flat beds, 24 Premium Economy seats with extra legroom and multiple other differentiating features, and 264 spacious Economy Class seats. All seats on the aircraft feature the latest-generation Panasonic eX3 in-flight entertainment system and HD screens to provide superior flying experience.
You can now order Network Thoughts baggage tags and/or book marks!
Follow NetworkThoughts on Twitter, Facebook, Telegram and YouTube.