Air India announced in July that it will fly its Airbus A350 jets to Newark and JFK Airports in just a few months.
The announcement comes as part of a larger rebrand for the Indian flag carrier. Two years ago, the government sold Air India to the Tata Group conglomerate, and former Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson was hired to lead the transformation.
Last year, Air India ordered 470 new jets — including 40 A350s.
One of these brand-new jets was on display at July’s Farnborough Airshow. The modern business-class suites, new premium economy seats, and updated economy cabin illustrate a distinct turnaround.
Here’s what the new Air India looks like.
Air India displayed one of its brand-new Airbus A350 jets at the Farnborough Airshow last week.
This jet has mostly been flying on the short-haul Delhi to Mumbai route — essentially a test run that will no longer be served by the A350 from August 31. It has also flown to Dubai several times.
The jet is pivotal in Air India’s rebrand as it seeks to transition from an outdated, government-owned carrier to a slicker, more modern operation.
During a summit at the airshow, CEO Campbell Wilson said Air India has 30 aircraft that are grounded because they need spare parts, which the former owner didn’t have enough money to provide.
“So we’re robbing parts off other aircraft to keep the remaining fleet flying,” he added.
Wilson said a lot of the airline’s work “has been about rehabilitating those aircraft into a flyworthy state and bringing in new aircraft with a modern product.”
He added that 80% of Air India’s fleet should meet modern standards by next April.
This A350-900 was only three months old.
“Representing the new India, and the quality thereof, is well on pace,” Wilson said.
I was particularly impressed by the new business class.
Air India’s old business class looked more like premium economy in a 2-3-2 layout. Now, it’s configured in a classic 1-2-1 formation, so everyone has direct aisle access. The suites also have sliding doors and dividers for privacy.
Wilson highlighted India’s growing middle class, so it makes sense that the airline needs a better premium product.
The business-class suites had a sleek but modest design.
However, this design was actually supposed to be for Aeroflot. Sanctions prevented Airbus from delivering them to the Russian airline, allowing Air India to acquire six A350-900s quicker than usual.
The seats can turn into lie-flat beds that are 6 feet 7 inches long.
The footwells were roomy, and I enjoyed testing out the buttons that automatically changed the seat position. Air India’s old business class would only slope downwards rather than lie totally flat.
Plus, passengers get Ferragamo amenity kits and Tumi pajamas.
This picture also shows a small remote for the in-flight entertainment, below buttons for the lamp and seating positions.
The in-flight entertainment catalog was well stocked.
Flicking through the options on the 21-inch screen, I saw mostly Bollywood films, but there were also numerous ones from the West. I also saw Taylor Swift albums and some games.
Or if you wanted to read instead, there was some insightful travel writing in the magazine.
I always enjoy seeing these periodicals. Maybe it’s just because I’m a reporter, but you could find plenty of new destinations that you might not have previously considered.
There was plenty of stowage space too, including a closet.At the end of the cabin was a small bar, but it wasn’t stocked during my tour.
You can usually find snacks as well as such alcoholic beverages as Johnnie Walker Black Label and Grey Goose.
There’s also a new premium economy cabin on Air India’s A350.
There were 24 seats arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration.
Air India’s premium economy comes with a hot towel and welcome drink upon boarding, noise-canceling headphones, and amenities from Tumi.
Levers on the armrest allow you to manually recline and extend the legrest.
However, I was surprised that there wasn’t a footrest — it felt a bit weird using the legrest without one.
I’m 5 feet 9, but I think taller people would find no issue with the legroom.
The screen was only about an inch larger than in economy.
The economy cabin was configured in a 3-3-3 layout.
Some A350 jets can fit 10 abreast so airlines can maximize capacity, but nine abreast means a smaller chance of being stuck in the dreaded middle seat.
Air India says the 264 economy seats are 17.52 inches wide, which is about average for the industry.
I was impressed by the amount of legroom here as well.
The pitch — or distance between the same spot on a seat and the one in front of it — is 31 inches. It’s the same as Air India’s older Boeing 777 jets.
You can also recline the seats by six inches.The economy seats also have adjustable headrests that slide up and fold at the sides.
This is relatively common on major airlines nowadays. When BI’s Taylor Rains flew economy on an old Air India Boeing 777, she found the headrest was broken.
Air India plans to fly its A350 to New York’s JFK Airport starting November 1.
Flights to Newark start on January 2, while a route to London Heathrow begins on September 1.
Flights from Delhi to New York take around 15 hours, while the journey time to London is just under 10 hours.
The network is likely to expand, too. “The opportunity now is for India to build an aviation hub,” Wilson said at the airshow.
He highlighted how India is geographically situated similar to “the superconducting airlines in the Gulf and elsewhere.”
The post I went on Air India’s brand new Airbus A350 that will soon be flying to the US. I was impressed by the airline’s transformation. appeared first on Business Insider.
