By Vaibhav Agrawal
The entire legacy wide-body fleet of Air India comprising 13 B777 and 27 Boeing B787-8 aircraft will be refurbished, committing over USD 400 million for the project. A complete overhaul of existing cabin interiors, including the best-in-class inflight entertainment across all classes and addition of the latest-generation seats will be witnessed by this refurbishment.
Under new owner, Tata Sons and following its privatisation, Air India, has entered into measures to equip a new avatar to take on rivals in the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market. The carrier plans to spend over USD 400 million to refurbish the cabin interiors, as the latest step in its makeover.
In addition, the process shall also witness the inclusion of a Premium Economy cabin on both the fleets. The First Class cabin too will be retained on the 777s.
London-based product design companies, Trendworks and JPA Design have been engaged by Air India while the companies have produced designs for major brands including Herman Miller International, The Orient Express and Taj Hotels to assist with the cabin interior design elements of this refurbishment programme.
“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. Under our Vihaan.AI transformation program, Air India has committed to attain 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. We are delighted to now publicly announce this significant investment on a complete interior refit, and we are confident that, when revealed, the new interiors will delight customers and show Air India in a new light.” says Campbell Wilson, Managing Director and CEO, Air India
