Air India is currently undergoing a mammoth integration effort. Air India Express and AirAsia India have been combined into Air India Express, and Vistara and Air India will be integrated on November 12, 2024.

Air India Express fleet development so far.

Air India Express has a large mix of aircraft in its airline fleet. The originally established Air India Express had the Boeing 737-800 aircraft in its fleet. It also took over some leased 737-800 when Vistara let them go into their fleet. Air India Express has 26 B737-800s, including two passed on from Vistara.

With the merger of AirAsia India and the loss of the brand name “AirAsia”, the airline transitioned to AIX Connect as its holding pattern brand name and inducted A320 ceo and neo aircraft in its fleet, operated by AirAsia India previously. The airline scrapped the AirAsia brand name, and many of these aircraft still operate in a plain red livery, awaiting their turn to enter the paint shop. Air India Express has 27 A320 aircraft, which it inherited from AirAsia India, including five A320neos.

Then, last October, Air India Express unveiled its new livery, which is being painted on the newly inducted Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in the fleet (and some older aircraft). Air India Express has quickly absorbed 35 737 MAX 8 aircraft in its fleet (given that it picked 50 aircraft that were not taken up by other airlines and were readily available).

Air India Express begins to absorb aircraft from Air India.

Air India Express has now received two all-economy configured aircraft, VT-EXD and VT-EXE, which were operating for Air India until late September 2024. Both took to the skies in Air India liveries but operated for Air India Express today, October 8, 2024, onwards.

Air India had five A320 ceo, 13 A320 neo (inducted between October 2023 and March 2024) and ten A320neos in all economy configuration from Vistara. Two of these have been sent to Air India Express, and over 20 A320 aircraft configured in an all-economy configuration will be heading to Air India Express.

For now, Air India Express intends to scale up quickly, and it will take all the equipment it can have, whether it is a Boeing airplane or an Airbus aircraft. Given the shortage of equipment in the market, it will not wait for the right seat type and the planets to align when it has the resources to operate a fleet that has both Boeing and Airbus narrowbody aircraft. It can fly all the capacity it can in the market and make money off it for now.

Bottomline

The next step in Air India Express’s integration with the group is now being played out. Air India Express has absorbed AirAsia India and is now taking over aircraft from Air India to expand its operations (and take over various routes from Air India in the future). Over 20 jets will transition from Air India to Air India Express in an all-economy configuration.

What do you make of the movement of the chessboard, the mammoth integration effort of Air India Express?

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