Air India spends more than $400 million to completely refurbish the cabin interiors of widebody aircraft

Flag bearer Air India announced plans to refurbish its entire legacy of widebody fleet of 27 Boeing B787-8 and 13 B777 aircraft, committing more than $400 million to the project.



This is stated in a company statement renovation will completely overhaul the existing cabin interior, including the addition of the latest seats and the best in-flight entertainment in all classes.

It will also see the introduction of a premium economy cabin on both fleets. The first-class cabin is also retained on the 777s.

Air India has engaged leading London-based product design firms – JPA Design and Trendworks – to assist with the cabin interior design refurbishment programme. According to the company, the partnership brings together two aviation and interior design experts who have created designs for major brands, including Taj Hotels, The Orient Express and Herman Miller International.

With this significant investment, Air India said it is committed to providing its passengers with a comfortable, modern and technologically advanced cabin to enable a travel experience on par with the best airlines in the world.

The full interior refurbishment will involve significant regulatory and engineering preparation, which began earlier this year. This lengthy but necessary process is expected to lead to the first aircraft entering service in mid-2024, according to the national airline.

Commenting on the widebody cabin refurbishment programme, Campbell Wilson, Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Air India, said: “As part of our Vihaan.AI transformation program, Air India has committed to highest level of product and service befitting a world-class airline. We know that the cabin product currently on our 40 legacy widebody aircraft does not meet this standard.”

He said that although the project started several months ago, the company is pleased to now publicly announce this significant investment in a complete interior refit, and is confident that the new interiors, when unveiled, will delight customers and Air India in a new light. .

“We are working closely with partners to accelerate the refit process as quickly as possible, meanwhile leasing at least 11 new widebody aircraft with brand new interiors to improve our offering as quickly as possible,” he added.

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