DELHI- Tata-owned Air India (AI) has launched its flagship Airbus A350-900 on the Delhi (DEL)-London Heathrow (LHR) route for the first time, marking a major step in the airline’s transformation.
This twice-daily service introduces the new Air India experience on long-haul flights, featuring a three-class cabin configuration with full-flat beds in Business, a new Premium Economy, and the latest seats in Economy.
Air India A350 to London
The A350 offers over 3,000 hours of in-flight entertainment with the latest-generation system, soon to include onboard Wi-Fi.
Business and Premium Economy passengers receive updated amenity kits by Ferragamo and TUMI, along with Air India’s new soft product, Vista Verve, featuring new chinaware, tableware, glassware, and bedding.
For the first time, the flight and cabin crew will wear uniforms designed by Manish Malhotra.
The aircraft includes 28 private suites with full-flat beds in Business, 24 Premium Economy seats with extra legroom and enhancements, and 264 seats in Economy.
Each seat is equipped with the Panasonic eX3 in-flight entertainment system and HD screens offering diverse content in 13 international and 8 Indian regional languages, plus a dedicated category for over 100 hours of kids’ content.
The dining service features a menu catering to both Indian and international tastes, served on India-inspired chinaware, delivering a luxurious and culturally rich experience.
CEO Remarks
Air India’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD), Campbell Wilson, announced the deployment of the airline’s flagship Airbus A350 aircraft on the Delhi-London Heathrow route.
Wilson stated that this move demonstrates Air India’s commitment to elevating the travel experience of its guests to world-class standards. Further going beyond customer expectations as the airline continues to grow and renew its fleet.
Air India began inducting the A350 aircraft earlier this year, which have since been operated on domestic and short-haul international routes.
The A350-900 model will replace the currently deployed Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on 14 of the 17 weekly flights between Delhi and London Heathrow. This change will result in an additional 336 seats being made available on the route each week.
Largest Carrier between Europe and India
The Europe-India route is currently served by 16 airlines. Air India dominates the market with 114,000 one-way seats, up 36% from 2019. While its subsidiary, Vistara (UK) ranks fourth after Lufthansa (LH) and British Airways (BA) with 46,000 seats.
Vistara is merging with Air India and this will further boost Air India’s European and other international routes. Post-merger Air India will offer 160,000 one-way seats almost 31 percent of the total market share.
The Europe-India air corridor is experiencing a golden age of connectivity. With capacity up 49% compared to 2019 and poised to break new records, the stage is set for increased cultural exchange, business opportunities, and tourism between these two diverse regions.
Further, the Gurugram-based airline will launch A350 service on Delhi (DEL)-New York (JFK) flights from November 1, 2024, and Delhi-Newark (EWR) flights from January 2, 2025.
Air India will take all the advantage it can such as the use of Russian Airspace, which is prohibited by European and American carriers.
It already has sufficient aircraft to serve its existing route and open new routes with new widebody deliveries. Further, Vistara also has a fleet of 787-9 Dreamliners which exclusively serves European routes.
The future of Europe-India air travel looks bright, promising to bring these two regions closer than ever before.
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