Air India just inducted its first Boeing 787-9 in the Air India Skin, and the aircraft is now flying between Mumbai and Frankfurt. The airline has at least three more Boeing 787-9 aircraft that are expected to join the fleet, apart from the Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which are undergoing retrofits, and 2 are expected to join back within the month of February 2026 itself. Earlier this month, we wrote about some Air India route upgrades that it has now confirmed. More upgrades have also been announced, scheduled to go live during the Northern Summer 2026 schedule, which will launch towards the end of March 2026.
Air India announces product upgrades for Northern Summer 2026
Air India has announced that it will deploy aircraft with new, retrofitted, or upgraded cabin interiors on key international routes as part of its Northern Summer Schedule 2026, thereby increasing capacity and enhancing connectivity on select long-haul routes. The changes to Air India’s schedule and product deployment on select international routes are as follows:
Between February and March 2026
- Effective February 14, 2026, Air India’s Delhi-Tokyo (Haneda) route will operate with ex-Vistara Boeing 787-9 aircraft featuring a three-class cabin configuration, introducing Premium Economy on the route. This deployment adds 2408 seats between Delhi and Tokyo (Haneda) every month.
- Starting March 1, 2026, Delhi – Toronto frequency will increase from 7x weekly to 10x weekly.
- Starting March 29, 2026, Delhi-Seoul (Incheon) frequency will increase from 5x weekly to 6x weekly, and the new Delhi-Shanghai flights will increase from 4x weekly to 5x weekly, adding 2048 seats on each route every month.
Air India’s ex-Vistara Boeing 787-9 Business Class
From July 2026
- Effective July 1, 2026, Mumbai-London (Heathrow) flights will operate with a combination of Air India’s incoming Boeing 787-9s and retrofitted legacy B787-8s, both featuring all-new cabin interiors. These flights will replace the currently deployed B777-300ER on the route, which already features upgraded cabin interiors.
- The Delhi-Melbourne daily flights will operate with Air India’s B777-300ER featuring upgraded cabin interiors, thus introducing First Class on the route. The aircraft features 8 suites in First Class, 40 fully flat beds in Business Class and 280 seats in Economy Class, adding nearly 4,000 seats every month between Delhi and Melbourne.
First Class on Air India’s ex-Etihad Boeing 777-300ER
From August 1, 2026
- Bengaluru-London (Heathrow) flights will operate with the airline’s retrofitted B787-8 aircraft, featuring new cabin interiors, thus introducing Premium Economy on the route. With this, all Air India flights to and from London (Heathrow) will be serviced by aircraft featuring new cabin interiors.
- 7x weekly flights on the Delhi-Toronto route will operate with Air India’s incoming, new B787-9 aircraft, featuring all-new cabin interiors in a three-class configuration and introducing Premium Economy on the route. The remaining 3x weekly flights will continue to operate with Air India’s legacy B777-300ER. With this, more than 50% of Air India’s North America flights will be operated with new or upgraded cabin interiors.
- Air India’s flights to Birmingham from Amritsar and Delhi, and to London (Gatwick) from Ahmedabad and Amritsar, will be operated with Air India’s legacy B777-300ER, replacing the currently deployed legacy B787-8 and introducing First Class on these routes.
Air India’s retrofitted Business Class on the Boeing 787-8
New and retrofitted Boeing 787 Aircraft
Air India began retrofitting its legacy B787-8s last year, an exercise that will see 26 aircraft refitted with brand-new cabin interiors custom-styled for Air India and repainted in the airline’s new livery. The first two of these retrofitted aircraft are expected to return to service in the coming weeks, with several more to be retrofitted progressively throughout 2026. Additionally, Air India expects deliveries of three new, line-fit (or made-for-Air India) B787-9 and two line-fit A350-1000 aircraft in 2026.
Bottomline
The much-promised Air India upgrade to the product experience is finally on its way. The airline has been talking about it for a few years; however, with Boeing’s issues finally getting out of the way, and their turn in the queue coming up to get new seats, the airline is finally able to show new aircraft and retrofitted aircraft, paired with a new lounge at Delhi and an upcoming one at San Francisco. This is the first of many upgrades that will see the light of day in 2026.
What do you think of the resurgence of Air India with the new products in 2026 and onwards?
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What’s the rationale for operating the 300ERs with First class on non-premium routes to Birmingham and Gatwick? Is there any demand for premium travel on these routes?
Yet again, no improvement for the UK diaspora flying between London Gatwick and Amritsar/Ahmedabad as worn out 787-8’s are replaced by even more worn out 777-300ER’s.
Also, no other carriers are given the chance to serve this market by the authorities.
@Amarjit, the Premium Market is London Heathrow – Indian metros. first they will be upgraded and eventually, even the Gatwick and India rotations will be updated
Aren’t the legacy 777-300ERs meant to be getting a temporary cabin refresh until the retrofits start next year? I saw VT-ALK’s refresh and – while it wasn’t a cutting edge product and seat – it looked miles better just by fixing the existing seats and replacing the seat covers. Or are they not refreshing the cabins?
It would be nice to have direct flights between Melbourne and mumbai .
Ajay, do you think there any plans to upgrade the planes to San Francisco?
@VT-AAR, of course, there must be. I am not saying this with direct knowledge, though. I believe the only plane that can do that for them would be the A350-1000, which they have one of (stored) and another due to arrive. They will need a minimum of two planes to operate a daily frequency to SFO. So, as usual, seat certification is taking time. They intend to have two planes within this year.
Why have they stored the A350-1000? Seems like a waste of such a valuable resource.
@Anumit, their seats on the A350K are not certified, so they just can’t take an aircraft and operate it without seats, right? Hence, in storage.
What is Air India doing on upgrading the fleet that is being used to fly from and to Chicago and Delhi? Is this sector unprofitable?
@Krishna, eventually, this is a game of finding the right plane (equipment) to fly the right route to match the loads on the sector and the plane’s range. Air India is retrofitting old planes, stripping them down to the bare bones and installing new seats and everything inside. Also, buying new long-haul planes. Eventually, it will be time to replace this route as well. We just have to wait, when.
Air India should take delivery of another B787-8 Dreamliner aircraft to replace the one which was involved in the AI 171 crash. I strongly feel that Air India should have 26+1 B787-8 Dreamliner aircrafts in it’s fleet again.
@Sajeev, I don’t think that is a good idea. Everyone goes for 787-9 and 787-10s now, most of the time.
@Ajay , do you think Air India needs the 787-10? Would it make sense if they converted some of the 19 remaining 787-9 on order into -10s?
In Business class, it would be a real Flat bed configuration as it is in other Major airlines like Air Canada , Emirates etc.
@Ranjit, not sure if this is a question or a statement. But yes, “real” flatbeds
Hopefully they’ll deploy the A35Ks to SFO this year itself, if they have 2.