A sales campaign launched by Airbus in 2022 finally culminated with Air India taking delivery of the airline’s first A350-900 aircraft in December 2023. Since then, the airline has received the initial batch of six A350-900 aircraft. Air India operates the A350s on domestic routes apart from one daily rotation to Dubai from Delhi and Mumbai each.

Air India will operate flights to London Heathrow with the A350-900 from September 1, 2024.

Air India has announced that it will deploy the A350-900 aircraft on international long-haul flights. The first sector where Air India will take the aircraft abroad will be Delhi—London Heathrow and back, effective September 1, 2024, twice daily.

 The A350-900 will replace the currently deployed Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on 14 of 17 weekly flights. As a result, an additional 336 seats will be available on the Delhi-London Heathrow route each week. 

With the deployment of the A350-900 to London Heathrow in September, Air India will have upgraded 90% of all its flights to London Heathrow. From April 2024, Air India started deploying its recently inducted Boeing 777-300ERs with elevated cabin interiors on all flights across its Mumbai-London Heathrow route to provide upgraded cabin interiors and inflight entertainment systems while bringing First class back on the London Heathrow-Mumbai route. This makes Air India the only carrier to offer the choice of First-class travel between the two cities and between the UK and India. 

The schedule of flights to be operated by the A350 between Delhi and London Heathrow, effective September 1, 2024, will be as follows.

 

Flights are on sale now.

What should you expect on board Air India’s A350-900?

Air India’s A350-900 aircraft comes in a three-class cabin configuration with 316 seats designed by Collins Aerospace: 28 private Business Class suites with full-flat beds, 24 Premium Economy seats with extra legroom and multiple other differentiating features, and 264 spacious Economy Class seats. All seats on the aircraft feature the latest-generation Panasonic eX3 in-flight entertainment system and HD screens to provide a superior flying experience. You can read all about the products in the cabin in our detailed note. 

 Air India’s A350 flights will also feature new soft products and award-winning guest enhancements unveiled earlier this year. These enhancements include new chinaware, tableware and glassware, bedding, and updated amenity kits for Business and Premium Economy guests, which were exclusively designed by Ferragamo and TUMI. 

Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India, said,

The deployment of our flagship A350s and the B777s with upgraded cabin interiors to London Heathrow marks a significant milestone for Air India. It demonstrates our commitment to elevating the travel experience of our guests to truly world-class standards and to going beyond just meeting customer expectations as we continue to renew our fleet.

With our industry-leading cabin products on the A350 including a new Premium Economy experience and a host of new on board enhancements rolling out, we are confident that these daily flights between India and London Heathrow will soon be the preferred choice for travellers.

We should expect more international route announcements soon since these two daily frequencies will take up two frames, and the airline has four more. Given the push for the aircraft retrofit project to 2025, it won’t be wise to have some widebodies grounded in 2024 for now.

Bottomline

Air India has launched the first international long-haul flights for sale. The flights will be operated twice daily with its A350-900 aircraft between Delhi and London Heathrow. Book your tickets here—the flights to LHR with the A350-900 launch on September 1, 2024.

Are you heading on one of the flights operated by Air India to London Heathrow?

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