Air India has been on its renewal journey for a while now, but the airline continues to surprise with its commitment to making the airline great again. As I had exclusively reported earlier, Air India let go of Safran’s Unity Platform (originally selected in 2023) upon its announcement.
Air India’s customised First Class coming to the A350-1000 post 2030
Air India MD Campbell Wilson had last year hinted that there would be a First Class cabin on the A350-1000 at an industry forum. He’d mentioned it took 4 years, give or take, for a new business-class product to be designed, and up to 7 years for a first-class product to come to be.
Following the earlier selection debacle, the airline had been set back on its retrofit plans, so it will take its own time to debut its new First Class. It is known that the airline has always intended to equip its long-haul aircraft (the A350-1K, the Boeing 777, and the Boeing 777-9) with First Class. The airline has also been open about inducting some A350-1000 aircraft without First Class. Which is what will happen to VT-JRO, the first A350-1000, which was contractually delivered to Air India last year, but will only get into service later in 2026 (because, no seats!)
Now, we have some news courtesy of Airbus at the Airline Interiors Expo 2026, which is currently taking place in Hamburg, Germany. In an update delivered today, Airbus mentioned that Air India is one of the customers of the Airbus Master Suite First Class concept, with the airline intending to induct aircraft featuring the new First Class from 2030 onwards.
Airbus showcased the concept last year as well as this year.
Air India, for the A350-1000, has signed on with Airbus to design the First Class using the First Class Master Suite concept. The concept entails a double bed centre suite (a la the Allegris Suites on Lufthansa and Swiss, which are also based on the same concept), however, it also encompasses a separate lavatory just like the Etihad Residence.
Airbus mentioned that Air India’s requirements have to be frozen this year, so the product and vendors can be lined up over the next 3 years to deliver the product with certification. It is a good thing, then, that Air India hired a Boeing expert in seat systems last year to run cabin projects.
But for the avoidance of doubt, the first aircraft will not receive First Class because it is not even ready yet; it is still in the concept stage. And also, it is unclear if this First Class concept will transpose to the Boeing 777 and the -9 evolution as well, or will this only be limited to the A350-1000s of the airline.
Bottomline
Air India will debut its Airbus A350-1000 in 2026; however, the First Class will only arrive circa 2030. This is a considerable step up from using the Business Class product as a First Class.
Air India has partnered with Airbus to conceptualise first-class suites, which will be based on the Master Suite Concept. Then, one of the many OEMs will manufacture it for Air India.
What do you think Air India’s first class plans?
Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.
(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)
We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.
Don’t want to sound cynical, but will Air India Survive until 2030, with an already worsening financial mess is has got into.
Toilets? These people in India are actually going to use toilets??
@Erndog, at least not like you dawg, dropping ya poop anywhere you please
Ajay, any idea on when VT-JRO might join the fleet? Seems like its been waiting for seat certification for a long time, but had another flight recently