Air India has been in a rush to refurbish its old aircraft, which has led to considerable criticism. As reported in December 2024, the airline had planned to launch the 787 retrofit in April 2025 and anticipates the aircraft will return to the fleet by October 2025. For the Boeing 777, the retrofit will take even longer and only undergo a “refresh” in 2025. Air India began refreshing its Boeing 777 fleet in February 2025, amid global supply chain disruptions that affected its comprehensive retrofit plans. The first aircraft, primarily used on US and Canadian routes, was the 17-year-old Boeing 777 registered VT-ALK.
Air India’s Retrofit begins.
It was widely expected that Air India wouldn’t start the retrofit process anytime soon, given the hull loss (the AI 171 fatal incident) and consequently the shortage of aircraft. However, the airline maintained the July 2025 timeline (following numerous postponements), and the first aircraft, registered VT-ANT, departed for Victorville in the USA on the night of July 23, 2025. The said airframe was delivered to Air India in 2015.
When the airframe returns to service, approximately five months from now, it will feature Business Class, Premium Economy, and Economy. I’ll write a separate post about what to expect from the product later.
Victorville is not just an aircraft boneyard,
Air India’s first A350-1000 is prepping up too
Air India’s first A350-1000 (MSN 719) has also been spotted in Toulouse a few days ago, albeit without the Engines hung, but in full livery.Cliper31, a planespotter based in Toulouse, posted the first image on July 26, 2025.
And so is Air India’s first Boeing 787-9, almost ready
While Air India already has 7 Boeing 787-9 aircraft in its fleet, having absorbed Vistara, the airline is also preparing to take delivery of its own 787-9 for the first time. The airline’s first 787-9 will be registered VT-AWA, and it looks like the aircraft has engines installed, but it is still to start its test flights. This image is courtesy of astro_brandon, and the aircraft is currently in Charleston, where Boeing 787s are assembled.
Bottomline
Overall, this is excellent news for Air India. After years of setbacks, the airline finally has its first aircraft in the maintenance hangar for a full nose-to-tail retrofit, and has the first of its 25 A350-1000s and 20 Boeing 787-9 aircraft nearing completion, with both being expected in the fleet within 2025 itself.
What do you make of Air India finally having the aircraft it needs to up its game?
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The A350-1000 looks gorgeous, followed closely by the 787-9. Do you know how many exactly are expected to join the fleet this year?
Also, do you know if they will launch their new stations: Dallas, LA, Seattle etc with this new equipment?
@anumit, I don’t think a new route will go live with one aircraft in the fleet. Anyway, both these aircraft will first do domestic runs before entering international service. Haven’t heard about the new routes. AI had to first focus on steadying the ship rather than expansion, for now.