Air India has expanded its fleet by incorporating two additional Boeing 777 aircraft during the first week of September, the company CEO Campbell Wilson confirmed in a communication to the airline’s employees on Friday. Alongside this fleet expansion, the airline has recruited 650 new pilots since April this year.
These additions are expected to have a tangible impact on Air India’s flight operations. A Boeing 777-200LR will be assigned to North American routes, enabling an enhancement in flight frequencies to destinations such as San Francisco and New York.
“A Boeing 777-200LR will be deployed to North America which will allow us to upgrade more San Francisco and New York frequencies,” he said. Furthermore, Air India plans to utilise the first of six newly acquired B777-300ERs to augment capacity on the Delhi-London route, beginning immediately.
In another development, one of the Boeing 787 aircraft, which had been grounded for an extended period, has been reintroduced into service. Additionally, the airline has commenced accepting reservations for upcoming flights connecting Mumbai and Bengaluru to Male, Maldives, scheduled to commence on October 30.
Along with this, he said, “The Group Hiring Cell (GHC) has successfully recruited and onboarded more than 650 pilots since April 1,” Wilson said in his weekly message to Air India employees.
GHC is the airline’s first integrated, cross-AOC (air operator certificate) and cross-functional teams.
Executives from the three airlines came together to recruit pilots en masse, he said, adding that recruitment is (still) going on.
Moreover, “the first week of September and this week saw the addition of not one but two new Boeing 777 aircraft to our fleet — the fifth and sixth of the year so far,” Campbell said.