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Air India upgrades 50% of fleet under $400 million retrofit programme

Air India on Wednesday announced that it has featured refurbished cabin interiors in more than 50 per cent of its fleet. This move is part of its $400 million retrofit programme of the airline to improve travel experience across both its narrow-body and wide-body aircraft. In its statement, the airline said, 'As we await deliveries of new aircraft, our entire fleet of legacy single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft is undergoing a comprehensive retrofit.' New seats in a three-class cabin configuration — Business Class, India's only Premium Economy, and an upgraded Economy Class— as well as new carpets, curtains, restrooms, and paint in the updated Air India branding are part of the aircraft upgrade plan. Notably, this upgradation programme is central to the TATA Group-owned airline's five-year transformation plan. 'The programme is an important step forward… It will help provide a consistent product and service experience across the fleet,' the airline said. Retrofit of aircrafts is airline's priority While speaking at the Skift India Forum in March, Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson described the retrofit of aircraft as 'the number one priority' for the airline. He confirmed that all legacy wide-body aircraft, including the Boeing 777s and 787s, are scheduled to be fully upgraded by early to mid-2027. 'By early to mid-2027, all of the legacy wide-body aircraft will be upgraded… still slower than we would have liked. We are now pulling these aircraft through a heavy refresh programme,' Wilson had said. Air India aims to complete retrofitting all 27 of its A320neo aircraft by the third quarter of this year, with the first upgraded jet already back in service. Following its merger with Vistara last year, the full-service carrier has also begun repainting and retrofitting the Vistara fleet—a process expected to take another 18 months.