Latest news with #Boeing787-8s
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Air India to stop flights to Washington DC from Sept. 1 over planned retrofit
Air India will stop its flights to Washington DC from September 1, 2025 due to shortage of aircraft as it undertakes retrofitment of its legacy widebody aircraft starting with Boeing 787-8s. Last month, the airline sent first of its 26 Boeing 787-8 aircraft which will be unavailable for flying till December 2025. Multiple aircraft will remain unavailable over a prolonged period until at least the end of 2026, according to a statement from Air India. The retrofitment of the 787s is expected to conclude by June 2027. The airline will continue to fly to other four U.S. destinations – New York, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco. Last week, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson announced in a townhall that the retrofitment of the legacy Boeing 777 aircraft is once again delayed till mid-2027, three years behind the initial schedule of mid-2024. The retrofit for Boeing 777 is now likely to conclude by October 2028 as per the latest timeline. After taking the delivery of 6 A350s, the next widebody delivery of a new aircraft a Boeing 787 is expected by the end of 2025. The 7th A350 is expected to join Air India only in the third quarter of financial year 2026.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Air India teams up with Singapore Airlines to boost safety: CEO Wilson
Air India is working on improving the reliability of its aircraft, collaborating with Singapore on industry best practices and retrofitting legacy planes, its CEO Campbell Wilson told staff on Friday. After the fatal crash of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft that killed 260 people on June 12, the Tata Group-owned airline has come under increased regulatory oversight and the carrier is pursuing efforts to stabilise its operations. During a townhall with the employees, Wilson said the airline has started the retrofit of its wide-body fleet and the first legacy Boeing 787-8 plane, sent for retrofit to the US last month, will join back the fleet by December this year, according to sources. The airline has 26 legacy Boeing 787-8 planes and all of them are expected to be retrofitted by June 2027. The retrofit of all legacy 27 A320 neo aircraft will be completed by September 2025. Against the backdrop of some Air India aircraft facing technical snags, Wilson told the staff that the carrier is working on improving the reliability of its planes, especially the legacy fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft, Boeing 787s and 777s. As part of improving the operational efficiency, Air India is working closely with Singapore Airlines, which holds a 25.1 per cent stake in the airline. Air India is collaborating with Singapore Airlines to "exchange notes on industry best practices", Wilson said at the townhall. The sources said Air India is working with the Singaporean carrier on various areas of improvement, including engineering and operations. Wilson, who is the CEO and MD of Air India, said the airline has also identified various bottlenecks regarding supply chain and availability of spare parts, and is working with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to resolve the issues. According to him, the airline's Net Promoter Score (NPS), an indicator of customer satisfaction, saw a dip from June 13-17 due to Iran airspace closure and disruptions, additional safety pause and engineering checks and sentiment around AI171 accident. Later, NPS rose to 35 in July from 18 in June, he added. Air India has a fleet of around 190 planes and aims to complete the retrofit of all the legacy Dreamliners by the middle of 2027. There are a total of 33 Dreamliners with Air India -- 26 legacy Boeing 787-8s and 7 Boeing 787-9s. Once the first retrofitted legacy Dreamliner is back in December, the airline will start sending two legacy Dreamliners every month for retrofit. These retrofitted planes will have a three-class configuration each comprising 20 Business Class, 25 Premium Economy and 205 Economy class seats. Currently, the airline's Boeing 787-8s have 18 Business and 238 Economy class seats each. The carrier has already started the heavy refresh programme of the legacy Boeing 777s. Heavy refresh of an aircraft includes having new carpets, seat covers, cushions and fixing broken seats. The refresh of these planes is expected to complete by the end of this year. On June 12, the airline's Boeing 787-8 aircraft enroute to London Gatwick crashed into a building soon after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, including 241 passengers who were onboard the ill-fated plane. One passenger survived. The retrofitting of the carrier's 27 legacy A320 is in progress, with the process being completed for 14 such planes. The remaining 13 aircraft are expected to be retrofitted by the end of September. Air India has also decided to retrofit its 13 legacy A321 ceo planes that were earlier planned to be taken out of service. In December 2022, the airline announced the USD 400 million comprehensive retrofit programme covering both legacy narrow-body and wide-body planes. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
08-08-2025
- Business
- First Post
Amid Trump's tariff tirade, India pauses $3.6 bn Boeing jet deal: Report
After US President Donald Trump raised tariffs on India, reports are emerging that New Delhi has paused a $3.6 billion deal to procure Boeing jets. The Defence sources noted that the matter is under assessment. read more As the US increases tariffs on Indian goods, reports are emerging that New Delhi has pressed a pause button on a whopping $3.6 billion deal to procure Boeing aircraft. The original deal involved the purchase of six additional Boeing P-8I by India, which was approved by the US State Department back in 2021 for $2.42 billion. These aircraft were intended to be used as maritime patrol aircraft. The price of the deal eventually soared in the ensuing years due to supply chain disruptions, inflation, and the tariffs imposed by Trump. According to a report cited by the Financial Express, the decision to pause the deal was taken because of the White House's move to increase tariffs on India by nearly 50 per cent. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Defence sources noted that the price spike due to tariffs made parts and components related to the aircraft procurement significantly more expensive for Boeing. These costs have since been passed down to the buyers, in this case, the Government of India. Air India sends Boeing aircraft for retrofitting Reports cited by the Financial Express suggested that the Ministry of Defence has therefore chosen to pause the acquisition of the Boeing aircraft and will be conducting a strategic reassessment of the deal. The assessment would include analysing factors such as rising costs, evolving geopolitical dynamics, and strategic autonomy, which are likely to play a crucial role in making the final decision. However, there has been no official confirmation from the Indian government about the deal or its suspension. The report of the pause came days after US President imposed high tariffs on Indian goods, citing concerns over New Delhi's move to purchase oil from Russia amid the war in Ukraine. Interestingly, the developments also came as Air India began sending its legacy Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners for retrofitting in the US. Sources close to the matter told PTI that the first revamped jet was likely to join the fleet by year-end. It is pertinent to note that there are a total of 33 Dreamliners with Air India: 26 legacy Boeing 787-8s and 7 Boeing 787-9s. The retrofitted plane would also be a template for the remaining ones, with the process being completed by the end of the year. Once the first aircraft is retrofitted, the airline aims to send two legacy Dreamliners every month for retrofitting, the sources said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD These retrofitted planes will include a three-class configuration, each comprising 20 Business Class, 25 Premium Economy and 205 Economy class seats. With inputs from PTI.
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Air India plane crash: Chandrasekaran urges staff to stay 'strong' and build a 'safer' airline
In his first address to Air India employees days after the fatal Ahmedabad crash, Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran urged staff to stay strong and resolute and said, "Our job is to get Air India into a better place, the place it deserves, the place this country deserves, the place where all the people who have trust on us deserve." Speaking to nearly 700 employees and the leadership team at Air India Headquarters and Air India Training Academy in Gurugram on Monday, Chandrasekaran urged employees to remain strong, resilient, and committed to building a 'safer' airline, according to sources. The June 12 crash has been one of the worst aviation disasters in India's recent history, prompting a detailed investigation. Air India and parent company Tata Group have announced financial assistance of Rs 1.25 crore for the families of those killed onboard. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If You Eat Ginger Everyday for 1 Month This is What Happens Tips and Tricks Undo Also Read: Air India Dreamliner bound for Delhi returns to Hong Kong after technical snag Chandrasekaran, according to sources, also spoke on the technical challenges of the aviation industry. This comes after the aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday ordered enhanced safety inspection of Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. The authorities have completed checks on eleven planes from Air India's fleet of Dreamliners. There are 26 Boeing 787-8s and 7 Boeing 787-9s in the fleet of Air India owned by Tata Group. Live Events "It's a very complex business… a complex machine, so a lot of redundancies, checks and balances, certifications, which have been perfected over years and years. Yet this happens, so we will figure out why it happens after the investigation," Chandrasekaran said. Acknowledging the magnitude of the loss, Chandrasekaran said, "Whatever I say and whatever we do is not going to bring the lives back. Those affected, they're going to feel the pain for a very long time. But having said that, we have got to do our very best humanly possible to help each of them." Also Read: Father's Day turns into nightmare for Air India crash survivor's dad as he collects younger son's body Chandrasekaran, who had personally visited the crash site, described the experience as deeply distressing. "I went to the site on that day…. it was not easy at all. I know many of you here in this room are part of the Emergency Response Team, may be even at the site or were handling all the shocks of that day," he said. "I've seen a reasonable number of crises in my career, but this is the most heartbreaking one which I never thought I would see." Amid public criticism following the incident, Chandrasekaran acknowledged the emotional toll on employees. "Criticisms are there, and those of us who are very passionate, who are emotional, who give our best to the job that we perform, who are working on making this airline a great airline, and who genuinely care about what kind of a company we want to build, but it's not easy to face criticisms," he said. Calling for resilience in the face of the tragedy, Chandrasekaran urged staff to focus on determination. "If you feel distraught, the word you should remember is determination. We are going to get through this. We need to show resilience. We need to use this incident as an act of force to build a safer airline." On the ongoing investigation, he urged the employees to stay the course. "Be more determined in everything we do. We need to wait for the investigation to find out," the Tata Sons chief added. Concluding his address, Chandrasekaran told employees that every small contribution mattered to the airline's future. "Big things get done by small actions. Every small action that you do and is executed perfectly helps the collective thing flourish. That's why we continue to focus on doing each of our jobs and with all humility. That's what should be our goal. Just stay the course," he said. Sources told that before the interaction, Chandrasekaran visited the airline's Emergency Command Centre, Integrated Operations Control Centre, and Customer Service and Support teams at the Gurugram headquarters.
News18
15-06-2025
- General
- News18
Crashed Air India Aircraft's Comprehensive Check Was Due In December 2025: Officials
Last Updated: The plane en route to London Gatwick Airport crashed into residential quarters of BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad. Over 265 people have lost their lives in the tragic incident. Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Air India's ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed minutes after take off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12 underwent comprehensive maintenance checks in June 2023 and was due for the next scheduled comprehensive checks in December this year, according to airline officials. The plane en route to London's Gatwick Airport crashed into the residential quarters of BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad. Over 265 people have lost their lives in the tragic incident. The aircraft VT-ANB underwent C checks or comprehensive checks in June 2023 and the next such scheduled checks were to happen in December this year, reported news agency PTI citing the airline officials. The C checks were done by AIESL (AI Engineering Services Ltd). Additionally, the right side engine of the aircraft was overhauled and installed in March 2025, while an inspection of the left side engine was done as per the engine manufacturer's protocol in April 2025, the officials said. The aircraft was powered by GEnx engines, manufactured by GE Aerospace. The officials also claimed that there were no issues with the engines or the aircraft. However, there was no official statement from Air India. After the incident, aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday ordered enhanced safety checks of Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 planes. The airline on Saturday said that the one-time safety checks of the aircraft are on track and the checks have been completed for nine planes. The airline has 26 legacy Boeing 787-8s and seven Boeing 787-9s in its fleet. On Friday, GE Aerospace said it supports the action being taken by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for enhanced safety inspections of the Air India 787-8/9 fleet. "We continue to work closely with the appropriate regulatory and investigative agencies, and we are committed to providing all technical support necessary to understand the cause of this accident," a GE Aerospace spokesperson had said in a statement. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing the crash and a high-level multi-disciplinary committee has also been set up to examine the causes for the accident. (With inputs from PTI) First Published: June 15, 2025, 14:14 IST
