Air India operates a fleet of both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft with a fleet consisting of Airbus A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, A350 as well as the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787.
Current fleet , Air India operates the following aircraft:
AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotesFCWYTotalRefsAirbus A319-1006——8—114122To be retired and replaced by Airbus A320neoAirbus A320-2004——12—138150Airbus A320neo9490—824132164Former Vistara aircraft to be repainted with Air India livery——1801804 to be transferred to Air India ExpressAirbus A321-20013——12—170182To be retrofitted with three-class configuration from 2026Airbus A321neo10195—1224152188To be repainted with Air India liveryAirbus A321XLR—15TBADeliveries from 2029Airbus A350-900619—28242643166 taken from an Aeroflot order, retaining interior configurationAirbus A350-1000—25TBAOrder with 5 options. Deliveries from 202613—435—303342Currently being refreshedTo be refurbished with a four-class configuration from early 20273053446840280328Ex-Etihad aircraft Boeing 777-9—10TBABoeing 787-826——2025205250Retrofitted configuration—18—238256To be refurbished241259 Boeing 787-96— —3021248299Former Vistara livery to be repainted in Air India livery41628238296Order with 20 optionsTotal187371
Special liveries
Aircraft Aircraft registration LiveryAirbus A320neoVT-ATVTata SIA Airlines (Vistara) retroVT-CINStar AllianceBoeing 777-300ERVT-ALJStar AllianceVT-ALNCelebrating IndiaBoeing 787-8VT-ANQGuru Nanak 550 Years CelebrationVT-ANUStar Alliance
Fleet development In 1932, Air India started operations with the De Havilland Puss Moth aircraft. On 21 February 1960, Air India International inducted its first Boeing 707 named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), thereby becoming the first Asian airline to induct a jet aircraft in its fleet. In 1971, the airline took delivery of its first wide-body aircraft, a Boeing 747-200B named Emperor Ashoka (registered VT-EBD). In 1986, Air India introduced its first Airbus aircraft, an Airbus A310-300. On 4 August 1993, Air India took the delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 named Konark (registered VT-ESM). Indian Airlines introduced the Airbus A320 family of aircraft in 1989 and the smaller Airbus A319s in 2005, which are now used by Air India on domestic and regional routes, respectively. On 11 January 2006, Air India announced an order for 68 jets – 8 Boeing 777-200LR, 15 Boeing 777-300ER, 18 Boeing 737-800 and 27 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. The 18 Boeing 737s ordered were later transferred to Air India Express when Air India took delivery of the Dreamliners. After the merger with Indian Airlines in 2007, Air India inducted the Airbus A321 in its fleet to operate mainly on short-haul international routes and leased the Airbus A330s to operate on medium-haul international routes.
The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on 26 July 2007, which was named Andhra Pradesh, and the first Boeing 777-300ER on 9 October 2007, which was named as Bihar. The carrier sold three Airbus A300 and one Boeing 747 in March 2009 for US$18.75 million, due to debts. It also sold five of its eight Boeing 777-200LR aircraft to Etihad Airways in December 2013. Air India received its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on 6 September 2012, commencing flights on 19 September 2012, which along with 777s, have since replaced the aging and fuel-inefficient 747s in the fleet of international routes. On 21 April 2014, Air India decided to sell its remaining three Boeing 777-200LRs as well, citing higher operating costs. On 24 April 2014, Air India issued a tender for leasing 14 Airbus A320 aircraft for up to six years, to strengthen its domestic network.
In December 2022, a day after the merger announcement with Vistara, it was reported that Air India would order nearly five hundred new aircraft. On 14 February 2023, Air India announced an order for 470 aircraft with options for 370 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing consisting of 210 A320neo family, 40 A350, 190 737 MAX for Air India Express, 20 787-9 and 10 777-9 aircraft at a cost of US$70 billion, with deliveries beginning in late 2023. The airline announced that it would be leasing 36 aircraft, 25 narrow-body aircraft and 11 wide-body aircraft, till the delivery of the newly ordered planes. On 26 March 2023, Air India took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo, albeit a leased one. As part of its fleet restructuring, Air India unveiled its new logo, livery and branding on 10 August 2023 and received its first re-branded aircraft, an Airbus A350-900, on 23 December 2023. On 22 April 2024, Air India sold their remaining four Boeing 747 aircraft to the US company AerSale.
On 12 November 2024, with the merger of Vistara and Air India, all of Vistara's 70 aircraft were transferred to Air India.
The airline revealed that it had placed another order of 100 aircraft from Airbus on 9 December 2024, converted from its options from the previous order. The deal comprised an additional 10 A350 aircraft and 90 A320 family aircraft.
In December 2025, the airline is expected to receive its first Boeing 787-9 aircraft. This will be followed by the induction of a wide-body aircraft every six weeks throughout 2026–28. While two of these aircraft in FY2026-27 will be Airbus A350-1000s, the rest will be 787-9s.
In March 2026, Air India revived its last grounded aircraft, registered as VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER. The aircraft has been grounded since January 2020 and entered the Nagpur MRO facility in May 2025 where it underwent nose-to-tail overhaul. It has already rejoined operations as of 17 March after receiving the Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC). This marked the end of the restoration programme for 30 grounded aircraft after the Tata Group took over the airline in 2022.
Legacy fleet retrofit programme Air India has initiated a $400 million refit program for its legacy aircraft fleet. On 16 September 2024, the first phase of the refit began, in which 27 older A320neo and 40 Boeing widebody aircraft will be retrofitted with new seats, cabin and livery. VT-EXN, an A320neo, became the first to be retrofitted. The aircraft was supposed to be delivered and enter service in December 2024 after its prototyping phase and certification. The rest of the 27 narrowbody aircraft's upgradation and modernisation was planned to continue at the rate of 3 to 4 aircraft per month.
As of March 2025, the first retrofitted legacy narrowbody aircraft, VT-EXN, had returned to the operational fleet, while the rest of the 26 legacy narrowbody fleet would complete the retrofit by the 3rd quarter of the year. The first of the legacy widebody aircraft, a Boeing 787, was planned to be sent for retrofitting by April 2025, followed by a Boeing 777 later in 2026, with the entire program expected to be completed by mid-2027.
As per a press release on 10 August 2025, the first of the airline's Boeing 787-8, registered as VT-ANT, had been ferried to Boeing’s Modification Center in Victorville, California in July. The aircraft was joined by another 787-8 in October, following which both aircraft was expected to return to active service in December 2025. According to the current schedule, the entire 787 fleet will complete its retrofit programme by mid-2027. These 787-8 aircraft would receive a new three-class configuration, along with upgraded avionics and other critical components, as part of a reliability enhancement initiative. Seven of these aircraft will also undergo "heavy, scheduled maintenance (D-checks)" in parallel. On 13 April 2026, the first retrofitted 787-8, VT-ANT, arrived in Delhi. The aircraft was painted in an FAA Part-145 certified aircraft paint facility, AeroPro, San Bernardino, California.
Further, the retrofit programme of the 27 narrow-body A320neo was also proceeding as planned, with project completion in September 2025. The programme was fast-tracked after the addition of a third line in GMR's MRO facility in Hyderabad airport. However, the retrofitting of the Boeing 777 fleet had once again been pushed back, now scheduled to take place between early 2027 and October 2028. This delay is attributed to supply chain issues due to COVID pandemic.
On 31 October 2025, Air India announced the completion of the first phase of its retrofit programme with the introduction of the final legacy A320neo following the interior upgrades. The airline was operating 104 aircraft of the A320 Family, which is either new or upgraded interior cabins. Further, the retrofit of 13 legacy A321 aircraft will commence from 2026.
Former fleet
+ Past aircraft operated by Air IndiaAircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredReplacementNotesAirbus A300B4-100119941994Airbus A321Airbus A300B4-200319822002Airbus A321Airbus A310-3002819862016Boeing 787-8Some converted to Cargo use for Air India CargoAirbus A319-1001720092024Airbus A320neo12021Transferred to DRDO as a testbed aircraftAirbus A320-2003820072019520152025Transferred to Air India ExpressAirbus A320neo720242025NoneAirbus A321-200120072019Airbus A321neo62022To be used in the AEW&C Mk II project for the Indian Air ForceAirbus A321neo420232025NoneTransferred to Air India ExpressAirbus A330-200220082015Boeing 787-8Boeing 707-320B319621989Boeing 747-200Boeing 747-300M Boeing 707-320C219641990Airbus A310-300Boeing 747-200Boeing 747-300M Boeing 707-400419601984Airbus A310-300Boeing 747-20011966NoneCrashed as Flight 10111982Crashed as Flight 403Boeing 737-200520072011Airbus A320Boeing 747-200B1119712004Boeing 747-400Boeing 777-200Boeing 777-200ER11978NoneCrashed as Flight 85511985Destroyed by a bomb as Flight 182119861988Boeing 747-300MLeased from Evergreen InternationalBoeing 747-300120052007Boeing 777-300ERLeased from Air Atlanta IcelandicBoeing 747-300M219882008Boeing 777-300ERBoeing 747-400M120052008Boeing 777-300ERPurchased used from Air Canada, sold to Dubai Royal Air WingBoeing 747-4001319932024Airbus A350-900Boeing 777-200LRBoeing 777-300ERLast 4 were deregistered in 2022, and sold to AerSale in April 2024. VT-ESM written off in September 2009 at BOM due to fire. VT-EVA, reregistered as N940AS, preserved at Roswell International Air Center, New Mexico. 2 aircraft used as Air India One for the President, Vice-president or Prime Minister of India.Boeing 757-200120072007NoneBoeing 767-300ER220062008None120072007Boeing 777-200120062010Boeing 777-200LRBoeing 777-300ERLeased from United AirlinesBoeing 777-200ER320052011Boeing 777-200LR520082014NoneSold to Etihad Airways320092025Airbus A350-900Boeing 777-300ER520222026Returned to lessorBoeing 777-300ER220182020NoneAcquired by Indian Air Force for Air India One for the President, Vice-president or Prime Minister of IndiaBoeing 787-8120142025NoneVT-ANB crashed as Flight 171Boeing 787-9120242025NoneDe Havilland Comet1950s1950sNoneDe Havilland Dragon Rapide1930s1940sNoneDe Havilland Fox Moth1930s1930sNoneDe Havilland Puss Moth19291932NoneDouglas DC-21519341940Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-319361970sDouglas DC-4Douglas DC-41948UnknownNoneDouglas DC-8-60F1519771988Airbus A310-300Boeing 747-200Douglas DC-8-70F19831995Airbus A310-300Boeing 747-200Ilyushin Il-62M19891990Airbus A310Lockheed L-1011 TriStar219951996Airbus A310-300Lockheed L-749 Constellation419481962Boeing 707Transferred to Indian Airlines and Indian Air Force11950NoneCrashed as Flight 24511955NoneDestroyed by a bomb as Flight 300Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation1019561962Boeing 707Transferred to Indian Airlines and Indian Air ForcePercival Petrel1930s1930sNoneVickers VC.1 Viking919471960sNoneWaco YQC-61939UnknownNone
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References