On November 27, Air India took delivery of the first Boeing 777-200LR ex-Delta registered VT-AEF and christened «Vihaan«. The aircraft was in Singapore (SIN) for painting and after the process it made a ferry flight to Delhi (DEL) to officially join the Indian airline’s fleet.
The airline expects to receive another four units in the coming months to expand its long-haul network to the United States. The upcoming aircraft have the following registration numbers: VT-AEE, VT-AEH, VT-AEG and VT-AEI.
VT-AEF‘s first service is expected to be flight AI 1504 between Delhi (DEL) and Bangalore (DEL), followed the next day by its first long-haul operation for Air India between Kempegowda Airport (BLR) and San Francisco (SFO).
In December, Air India will be the only carrier to offer non-stop service to San Francisco (SFO) from Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM) and Bangalore (BLR). The California market will be the airline’s second largest market in North America in terms of seats per seat kilometers offered (ASK), behind only the New York metropolitan area.
The spirit of Atlanta is now AIR INDIA LTD .
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Seen here is the freshly arrived B777-200LR Reg as VT-AEF named as "VIHAAN" of @airindiain.in landed @DelhiAirport from SIN today as call sign AI-1111 . pic.twitter.com/nH7JkSAcLZ— Athul suresh (@an_airsideian) November 27, 2022
In addition to increased operations on the U.S. West Coast, the airline will have new service from February 14, 2023 between Mumbai (BOM) and New York (JFK) on Boeing 777-200LRs, complementing the daily flights between Delhi (DEL) and John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK).
Flight Itinerary
- Mumbai – New York Flight AI 119 BOM 00:55 – JFK 06:55 daily flights.
- New York – Mumbai Flight AI 116 JFK 10:55 – BOM 11:35+1 daily flights.
Air India continues to expand its international network recently announced the resumption of services from Delhi (DEL) to Vienna (VIE), Milan (MXP) and Copenhagen (CPH); and new routes from Mumbai (BOM) to Frankfurt (FRA) and Paris (CDG) by the first half of 2023.
«The introduction of these new non-stop flights to New York, Milan, Vienna, Copenhagen, Paris and Frankfurt is a further step on that path, which will accelerate as our aircraft fleet expands. We look forward to welcoming guests and sharing Air India’s warm Indian hospitality with them,» said Campbell Wilson, CEO of Air India.
See also: New giant in Asia: Air India and Vistara to be merged
