[shortbread]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Just as a reference; there are really no countries in the world that make their own airplanes, certainly not commercial jet airliners.


Jeroen

Agreed, but what I meant was taking ownership of the company and location of final assembly/production. Of course a large portion of the components will be sourced from the world over.

A struggling project that was recently taken over is the Sukhoi 100 passenger aircraft. United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the Russian state-owned aerospace company, will divest from the Sukhoi Superjet 100 program and will sell their majority stake to UAE.

UAE will assemble the jets in a facility to be established near AlAin airport with help from Leonardo Italy. A country like UAE has zero aircraft industry experience, but they smelt an opportunity for a bargain. All I'm saying is India should do the same rather than start from scratch.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by shortbread

UAE will assemble the jets in a facility to be established near AlAin airport with help from Leonardo Italy. A country like UAE has zero aircraft industry experience, but they smelt an opportunity for a bargain. All I'm saying is India should do the same rather than start from scratch.

Interesting. I wasn't aware of this. However isn't that easier said than done? Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the Japanese do something similar and that was buying from a country with some historic aviation experience (Canada) when they bought the regional jet programme from Bombardier (who were essentially divesting from civil aerospace)? They (Mitsubishi) merged it with their own regional jet project but as you pointed out earlier, they quietly shelved that.

The Emiratis can throw cash at the problem till they have success but it's not like the Japanese didn't spend either before calling quits.

When did the Russians sell to the Emiratis btw?

I will agree though that just buying out an airliner development programme or company is an interesting proposition. However given how these projects are often tied not just to national interest but also matters of national pride it's hard to imagine this is an easy matter. India has a mountain to climb just getting transfer of technology or license manufacturing, buying out the aircraft industry of another sovereign nation is going to involve a lot of diplomatic, economic and strategic juggling.

[shortbread]

Originally Posted by ads11

Interesting. I wasn't aware of this. However isn't that easier said than done? Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the Japanese do something similar and that was buying from a country with some historic aviation experience (Canada) when they bought the regional jet programme from Bombardier (who were essentially divesting from civil aerospace)? They (Mitsubishi) merged it with their own regional jet project but as you pointed out earlier, they quietly shelved that.

The Emiratis can throw cash at the problem till they have success but it's not like the Japanese didn't spend either before calling quits.

When did the Russians sell to the Emiratis btw?

I will agree though that just buying out an airliner development programme or company is an interesting proposition. However given how these projects are often tied not just to national interest but also matters of national pride it's hard to imagine this is an easy matter. India has a mountain to climb just getting transfer of technology or license manufacturing, buying out the aircraft industry of another sovereign nation is going to involve a lot of diplomatic, economic and strategic juggling.

Perhaps if the Emaratis fail or find the project a handful, an Indian conglomerate can take over.

[jigar1791@gmail]

Not very sure on how much of this is true - Air India to get 6 A350s originally meant for Aeroflot (the Russian flag carrier).

It's clear the sanctions EU has imposed on Russia due to it's on-going war with Ukraine, means Russia cannot take deliveries of it's ordered and readied machines.
Source : https://simpleflying.com/air-india-a...letter_popup=1

Coming back to AI, the exterior livery will be that of ours, the interior will sport a 3 class cabin layout -
Business Class - 28 seats
Premium Economy - 24 seats
Economy - 264 seats

While there's no word out from AI on the interior configuration of it's wide-body order-book, I have a hunch AI wants to try out the 3 class mix.

All of AI's BOM/BLR-SFO flights use ex-Delta 200LRs, with a 3 class product. While all of AI's existing widebodies (300s/787s) feature a 2-class cabin.

It'll be interesting to see what configuration AI prefers in it's new wide-bodies, but assuming the current Premium Economy from BOM/BLR to SFO enjoys higher occupancy and yields, you would want to have a wider appeal to travellers, yet keep synergies amongst your fleet as common as you can.

[SedateGuy]

Originally Posted by jigar1791@gmail

Not very sure on how much of this is true - Air India to get 6 A350s originally meant for Aeroflot (the Russian flag carrier).

It's clear the sanctions EU has imposed on Russia due to it's on-going war with Ukraine, means Russia cannot take deliveries of it's ordered and readied machines.
Source : https://simpleflying.com/air-india-a...letter_popup=1

.

Reading this post it struck me. Air india is one of the few airlines allowed to fly through Russian airspace at the moment. If Air India flew one of these 6 planes through Russian airspace would Russia force it down claiming it to be their property.?

[PPS]

Originally Posted by jigar1791@gmail

Air India to get 6 A350s originally meant for Aeroflot (the Russian flag carrier).

Air India is also to get some brand new A321 Neo's which were originally meant for Russia's Ural.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by SedateGuy

Reading this post it struck me. Air india is one of the few airlines allowed to fly through Russian airspace at the moment. If Air India flew one of these 6 planes through Russian airspace would Russia force it down claiming it to be their property.?

Interesting proposition. I think in the highly unlikely event the Russian govt pulls off such a stunt, they'd definitely put a dent in ties with India, however much goodwill they might harbour in India. Given India is still a major partner who hasn't outright criticised them on the international stage, it would border on lunacy to pull off such a stunt, for a few planes. They have far bigger fires they need to put out at home.

I guess on the bright side, India toeing a fine line diplomatically does keep airspace routing options open for Indian carriers. I think I remember some Scandi carriers Asian routes were totally buggered when Russian airspace was closed to them.

On the topic of the 3 class config of the ex-Aeroflot A350s, I'm curious about how jarring the (mostly) intact Aeroflot spec interiors will feel compared to the rest of the fleet (sure I imagine insignia would be removed but a lot is going to be the same).

I guess those ex-Delta 777s have a similar issue in terms of being conspicuous interior palette wise from the rest of the fleet.

I guess these jets with their different layouts compared to existing AI jets will allow management to tinker around and formulate their cabin structures moving forward once the new build AI destined jets start coming in. I bet execs will be testing the waters in terms of a premium economy offering with these loaner or orphaned jets before implementing the option fleet wide.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by SedateGuy

Reading this post it struck me. Air india is one of the few airlines allowed to fly through Russian airspace at the moment. If Air India flew one of these 6 planes through Russian airspace would Russia force it down claiming it to be their property.?

They were built for Aeroflot - but not delivered to them. So it isn't Russian property, in any case.

[skanchan95]

Air India Takes Delivery of First & New Airbus A321neo named after Ratan Tata



MUMBAI, 26 March 2023 — India’s Full Service Carrier (FSC) Air India (AI) has received the delivery of the first Airbus A321neo, named after Ratan Tata. The narrow-body airliner is registered as VT-RTD to give tribute to TATA group chairman Emeritus.

The aircraft landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi (DEL). This is the first time that Air India took delivery of a narrowbody airliner after its acquisition by Tata group last year in Jan 2022.

Earlier, these planes were destined for Russian carriers. This is for the first time that Air India has received delivery of a single-aisle airliner after its acquisition by Tata Group.

According to FlightRadar24, the Aircraft took off from Hamburg (XFR) at 1:02 Pm IST and landed at Delhi (DEL) today at midnight 1:26 Am IST. VT-RTD completed several test flights before making today’s flight.

The first A321neo VT-RTD was earlier destined for the Russian Joint Stock Company Smartavia Airlines. However, it was painted to new Air India livery after 12 days and spotted in Hamburg for the first time in Feb 2023.

The Aircraft is part of 36 aircraft Air India has taken on lease. The Aircraft includes both narrow-body and wide-body airliners. They are 21 A320s, 4 A321neos, 5 Boeing 777-200LR, and 6 Boeing 777-300ERs.

This is after 4 years that TATA-owned AI has taken delivery of single-aisle airliners. Also, the last A321 airliner that joined the fleet was back in 2010.

https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/20...ata-exclusive/

[volkman10]

Air India finalises order for 290 airplanes with Boeing— Largest in South Asia.



Indian air carrier, Air India, finalised its order for a substantial fleet of up to 290 Boeing jets from the Virginia-headquartered company on Tuesday (June 20).

Of 290 aircraft, Air India placed an order for 190 737 Max jets, 20 797 Dreamliner jets, and 10 777X Jets while the company also has the option to add 50 737 Max jets and 20 787 Dreamliner jets.

This deal marks a significant milestone for both companies as the purchase stands as the largest order ever placed in South Asia, Boeing said in a statement.




Link

[volkman10]

Boeing finds new issue with some 737 MAX, to delay deliveries. Fastener holes on the Aft pressure bulkhead of certain MAX planes were improperly drilled.

- Air India had ordered 190 Boeing 737 MAX as part of its 470 aircraft order

- Akasa Air has 56 more 737 MAX to be delivered

[BoneCollector]

As per this report Air India Express has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737MAX aircraft.

The first 737 MAX inducted by Air India was earlier designated to Shanghai Airlines (FM). The aircraft has 168 Economy and 8 Business Class Seats. Further, it has the registration N5515X, and Indian registration is expected to have VT-BXA.

[BoneCollector]

Air India has taken delivery of its first A-350-900.


Link

On Friday (September 29, 2023), Air India (AI) announced the successful completion of the acquisition of its inaugural Airbus A350 aircraft, facilitated through a finance lease transaction conducted via HSBC and the GIFT City.

This marks the first wide-body aircraft acquired through GIFT City, India’s premier International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Air India has taken delivery of its first A-350-900.


Link



Attachment 2510308

The livery does seem better on a real aircraft than it did in renderings. But wish they'd found a way to retain the palace window design and the paintings on the vertical stabilizer (Air India Express).

[ads11]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

The livery does seem better on a real aircraft than it did in renderings. But wish they'd found a way to retain the palace window design and the paintings on the vertical stabilizer (Air India Express).

Was going to say just this. New livery does indeed look clean, minimalist and modern in the flesh, compared to painfully generic in the renderings. But beyond the India in the name, in the absence of distinctly Indian motifs like the palace windows, there's nothing to distinguish it as being Indian. I wish they'd found some small visual motif on the exterior that would work in maintaining that link. I guess though that the goal is a clean break from the previous era, a fresh start as a global carrier and so they've gone with the milquetoast approach to that.

Still at the end of the day it's the service offering that'll be the true test so as long as that's pukka, can't complain.

How soon does a plane get pressed into service after delivery in the civil aviation sector?