Air India to invest over Rs 3,200 crore to upgrade wide-body aircrafts cabins

The transformation of Air India's wide-body aircraft will be carried out in partnership with major brands like Taj Hotels, The Orient Express, and Herman Miller International, report IANS.

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Moving forward with the transformation programme, Air India announced plans on Thursday to refurbish its entire legacy widebody fleet, which includes 27 Boeing B787-8 and 13 B777 aircraft, investing more than $400 million (around Rs 3200 crore) in the project. The existing cabin interiors will be completely refurbished, including the latest generation seats and best-in-class in-flight entertainment across all classes. In addition, both fleets will receive a Premium Economy cabin as part of the refurbishment. The 777s will also retain the First Class cabin.

Air India has engaged leading London-based product design companies, JPA Design and Trendworks, to assist with this refurbishment program's cabin interior design elements. The collaboration brings together two experts in the fields of aviation and interiors that have produced designs for major brands, including Taj Hotels, The Orient Express, and Herman Miller International.

With this significant investment, Air India is committed to providing its passengers with a comfortable, modern, and technologically advanced cabin to facilitate a travel experience comparable to the best airlines in the world.

The complete interior refurbishment entails significant regulatory and engineering preparation, which commenced earlier this year. This lengthy but necessary process, and the time required to manufacture seats, is expected to lead to the first aircraft entering service in mid-2024.

Commenting on the widebody cabin refurbishment program, Campbell Wilson, MD & CEO of Air India, said: "Under our Vihaan.AI transformation program, Air India has committed to attaining the highest standards of product and service befitting of a world-class airline. We know that, at present, the cabin product on our 40 legacy widebody aircraft falls short of this standard.

"Although the project commenced some months ago, we are delighted to announce this significant investment in a complete interior refit publicly. We are confident that, when revealed, the new interiors will delight customers and show Air India in a new light. We are working closely with partners to accelerate the refit process as fast as possible and, in the meantime, leasing in at least 11 new widebody aircraft with brand new interiors to improve our offering at the earliest opportunity." Vihaan.AI is Air India`s transformational roadmap over five years with clear milestones.

With inputs from IANS