INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
(Photo: Reuters/Almaas Masood)2 min read Last Updated Sep 10 2024 | 5:13 PM IST
Air India Express, which is set to complete the merger of
AIX Connect with itself next month, will phase out business class seats in its aircraft in 2025, according to a senior airline
official.
Currently, the carrier, part of Tata Group, has a fleet of 85 aircraft -- 25 A320 family planes and 60 Boeing 737s
By year-end, the total number is expected to be around 100.
The airline has 34 white tail Boeing 737-8 aircraft and out of them, 29 have
business class seats of varying numbers
particular airline and later taken by another airline.
The airline official told PTI that aircraft with the business class seats will be
phased out by reconfiguring them next year as business class does not fit into the Air India Express model.
These white tail aircraft have
varying number of business class seats, the official added.
In the existing fleet of Air India Express, there are 20 A320s, 5 A320 neos,
26 B737-NGs and 34 B737-8 planes.
At present, the airline offers economy and business class seats.
The global aviation industry
continues to grapple with supply chain woes that have also resulted in instances of delayed aircraft deliveries and shortage of planes amid
rising air traffic demand post the coronavirus pandemic.
Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, operates more than 380 daily
flights, connecting 32 domestic and 14 international destinations.
In February 2023, Tata Group-owned Air India placed orders for 470
planes comprising 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing
Out of the total, 400 are narrow body aircraft.
Tata Group has four airlines -- Air India, Vistara, Air India Express and AIX Connect --
earlier known as AirAsia India.
The merger of AIX Connect with Air India Express is set to be completed on October 1 while that of Vistara
with Air India on November 12.(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest
of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)First Published: Sep 10 2024 | 5:13 PMIST
