Tata Group-owned Air India on Wednesday said it will deploy erstwhile Vistara’s A320 planes that offer “best narrow-body cabin products” on five key metro-to-metro routes, including Delhi-Mumbai and Mumbai-Hyderabad.
The airline said the deployment will start from December 1. It will continue to operate one flight with a wide-body plane each between Delhi and Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, and Delhi and Hyderabad. For this, either a Boeing 777 or Airbus A350 aircraft will be deployed.
Full-service carrier Vistara was merged with Air India earlier this month. To provide a choice to passengers at the time of booking, these new flights will operate with their numbers starting with the prefix “AI2”.
Air India also said it will optimise flight schedules so that flight departures are spread out throughout the day, without reducing frequency.
In the announcement, the airline said that flights on five metro-to-metro routes will be operating with erstwhile Vistara’s A320 series aircraft having a three-class configuration — business, premium economy and economy class.
The airline will offer 35,000 premium seats — premium economy and business — every week on these routes. The routes are Delhi and Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Currently, Air India has a fleet of 208 planes, including around 67 wide-body aircraft.
“By combining the strengths of both full-service carriers, we are able to consolidate our best narrow body offering on routes where there is desire for a high frequency, full service product,” said Campbell Wilson, managing director and chief executive officer, Air India.
“We will progressively expand the coverage to more routes as Air India inducts new aircraft and completes the retrofit of our legacy narrow body fleet during 2025,” he added.