Air India
Air India at a glance
Air India is the flag carrier of India and the centerpiece of the most expensive airline rebuild ever attempted: since the Tata Group bought the airline back from the state in January 2022, it has absorbed Vistara, ordered 570 new aircraft across Airbus and Boeing, and begun refitting a long-haul fleet whose cabins had become a national embarrassment. The airline J.R.D. Tata founded in 1932 is, in effect, being built twice.
Under CEO Campbell Wilson, the strategy is to reclaim the traffic India currently hands to the Gulf super-connectors: a full-service Star Alliance network flying Indians nonstop over Delhi rather than one-stop over Dubai or Doha. The group, including low-cost Air India Express, now fields around 300 aircraft, with the A350 as its new long-haul flagship and Singapore Airlines holding 25.1% of the company.
Fleet
Air India's fleet tells the story of its rebuild: brand-new A350s arriving at the top, legacy 787s and 777s cycling through cabin refits, and an A320neo-family order book replacing the short-haul fleet underneath. The 2023 order for 470 aircraft, later expanded to 570, was among the largest in aviation history.
| Aircraft | Role | Fleet Size |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus A350-900 | New long-haul flagship | 6 of 50 ordered |
| Boeing 777-300ER | North America workhorse | ~13 |
| Airbus A320neo | Domestic and short-haul core (A320neo family) | ~140 |
Hub & route network
Delhi is the fortress: Air India's rebuilt long-haul operation runs from Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International, with Mumbai and Bengaluru as secondary hubs. The network logic is nonstop reach, from Delhi to North America, Europe, Australia and East Asia, aimed squarely at traffic that currently connects over the Gulf.Alliance & partnerships
Air India has been a Star Alliance member since 2014, the network it retained through privatization, and its deepest commercial relationship is with shareholder Singapore Airlines, which took 25.1% of the merged company when Vistara was absorbed in November 2024.Group structure
Air India Limited sits inside the Tata Group and spans the full-service mainline plus low-cost Air India Express, which absorbed AIX Connect (AirAsia India). The Vistara merger in November 2024 completed the consolidation of Tata's four airlines into two.Full specifications
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Frequently asked questions
The Tata Group, which founded the airline in 1932 and bought it back from the Indian government in January 2022 after 69 years of state ownership. Singapore Airlines holds 25.1% following the Vistara merger.
570 in total: the landmark 2023 order for 470 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, expanded in 2024 with 100 more Airbus jets, including A350s, 787s and 777Xs alongside hundreds of A320neo-family narrowbodies.
Yes, Air India is a member of Star Alliance, which it joined in 2014, alongside partners including Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and United.