New Air India Plane: First Look At The Redesigned Logo, Design

Air India, now under the ownership of the Tata Group, unveiled the first glimpse of one of its aircraft featuring a new logo on Saturday. The airline shared the exciting news, stating, "Here's the first look of the majestic A350 in our new livery at the paint shop in Toulouse. Our A350s start coming home this winter."

After acquiring the debt-laden Air India, Tata Group has embarked on a comprehensive transformation of the airline.

India's inaugural Airbus A350-900 aircraft was successfully acquired by Air India last month through a finance lease arrangement facilitated by HSBC at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). This marked the first wide-body aircraft leased through the GIFT City, the nation's inaugural International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

According to the airline's statement, the transaction was facilitated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, AI Fleet Services Ltd (AIFS), and represents the first financing transaction stemming from the orders for 470 aircraft placed earlier this year.

"Air India's first A350-900 is also the first widebody aircraft to have been leased through India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). The transaction was facilitated by AI Fleet Services Limited (AIFS), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Air India, and a GIFT IFSC-registered finance company," the airline reported.

Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer at Air India, commented on this milestone, saying, "This landmark transaction marks the beginning of our aircraft leasing business from GIFT IFSC, as AIFS will be the primary Air India Group entity for widebody aircraft financing, playing a pivotal role in the future aircraft financing strategy for us and our subsidiaries."

Air India has placed an order for six A350-900 aircraft, with the delivery of five of them expected by March 2024. Additionally, the airline's confirmed orders for new aircraft include 34 A350-1000s, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 10 Boeing 777Xs, 140 A320 neos, 70 A321 neos, and 190 Boeing 737MAXs.

In June of this year, Air India entered into purchase agreements with Airbus and Boeing to secure these aircraft. Currently, Air India operates a fleet of 116 aircraft, including 49 wide-body planes. The total comprises 27 B787-8s, 14 B777-300s, 8 B777-200LRs, 14 A319s, 36 A320 neos, 13 A321 ceos, and 4 A321 neos.

Tata Group is actively streamlining its aviation business, with AIX Connect set to merge with Air India Express, and Vistara merging with Air India. Vistara is a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, with Singapore Airlines holding a 49 percent stake in the carrier.