Boeing Options on Hold for Air India
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The Air India CEO announced that the airline would postpone its Boeing options until the manufacturer resolved its backlog. Campbell Wilson stated that he seeks certainty regarding deliveries.
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“We don’t want to commit to anything until we have confidence of when it’s going to come,” he said.
“And likewise, they don’t want to offer something until they have confidence of when it’s going to come.”
As of January 31, 2025, Air India’s Boeing order book includes 153 B737 MAX, ten B777-9s, and twenty B787-9s. The contracts also include options for an additional fifty MAX and twenty B787-9s. Boeing has backorders for 619 B787-9s, 481 B777X, and 4,759 B737 MAX. However, the US Federal Aviation Administration has yet to certify the B777X and has reduced MAX production to 38 aircraft monthly.
“We expect to get [our aircraft], but do we expect to get them according to timeline? No, we don’t,” said Wilson.
“And I think that every airline would tell you the same thing.”
Under Wilson’s guidance, Air India is refreshing its fleet as part of a broader transformation initiative. In early 2023, the airline ordered 140 A320-200Ns, seventy A321-200Ns, thirty-four A350-1000s, and six A350-900s from Airbus. Furthermore, it made an additional order for ninety A320neo family aircraft and ten A350s late last year. Nonetheless, Airbus encounters difficulties delivering its planes as they exit the assembly line.
Wilson observed that supply chain challenges are impeding the refurbishment of existing aircraft and impacting the transformation strategy alongside slower-than-anticipated aircraft deliveries.
“We’ve had delays from pretty much every supplier for every one of our seat upgrade programmes, some as short as six to nine months, others as long as 18 months,” he said.
“That just pushes out the whole product transformation longer than we had hoped.”
Refurbishments for the existing B787 fleet are said to be moving smoothly. In contrast, upgrades for the B777 are facing setbacks caused by problems acquiring seats. Recently, Air India disclosed the suspension of its routes from Mumbai International to Melbourne Airport and Kochi International to London Gatwick, citing shortages linked to the B777.
Five of Air India’s nineteen B777-300ERs are grounded, while all eight B777-200LRs remain in service. The overall fleet includes ten A319-100s, seven A320-200s, ninety-five A320-200Ns, thirteen A321-200s, thirteen A321-200NXs, one A321-200NX(LR), six A350-900s, twenty-seven B787-8s, and seven B787-9s.
