Air India Transfers 20 A320s to Air India Express

Optimized Operations: 20 A320s Transition from Air India to Air India Express

Air India Express will be receiving up to twenty aircraft types from parent company Air India as part of a fleet optimization strategy to increase the low-cost carrier’s flights across domestic and short-haul international routes. Additionally, Air India will transfer cabin crew and pilots to Air India Express. According to the Hindu Business Line news outlet, the aircraft will be transferred in phases over the next few months.

Air India Express, which is in the process of merging with AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India), currently operates mostly Boeing aircraft, including twenty-six B737-800s and twenty-six B737-8s, alongside four A320-200Ns and one A320-200. This imbalance will be resolved when AIX Connect’s twenty-three A320-200s and single A320-200N are folded into the fleet. Combined with the incoming Air India stock, the merged low-cost entity will become predominantly an Airbus operator.

Currently, Air India operates nine A320-200s and forty-six A320-200Ns, with another 125 on order. All but one of these are configured as dual-class cabins. However, it is expected that Air India will convert the 20 aircraft heading to Air India Express into a single-cabin configuration. The fleet transfer is part of a broader overhaul of the Tata Sons-owned airlines, which involves Vistara merging with Air India and a merger between Tata-owned low-cost carriers. These mergers will reduce the number of Tata Sons airline brands to two.