AI in revamp mode: Fresh look at aircraft, routes, and crew outfits

26 Apr 2007

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New Delhi: State carrier, Air India, is in the throes of revamping its operations and is taking a fresh look at a number of operational details. These, according to AI chairman and managing director, V Thulsidas, includes a larger number of long-range aircraft, new long haul routes as well as fresh dress design for its cabin crew.

With demand for non-stop Indo-US flights now expected to be much higher, the airline is doing a rethink on the number of long-range aircraft, such as the Boeing 777-200 LR that it requires for direct Indo-US services. In particular, the airline now wants to connect more US cities, such as Washington and Houston, to India.

AI's earlier plans were to begin daily services on New York-Delhi, New York-Mumbai, Mumbai-Chicago and also to San Francisco from another Indian metro. Each direct flight requires two aircraft and the airline had accordingly ordered eight Boeing 777 LR versions. But with newer destinations, orders for LR aircraft may also increase.

"I have set up a group of top officials to examine this issue to find how many more LRs could be required. We will even look at the A380 as an option. Since future strategy has to be to spread out of Delhi and Mumbai alone to smaller cities, whether such big planes can be filled up or not has to be examined," Thulasidas said.

"From June we will launch non stop India-US flights on the Boeing 777-200 LR, while the three other carriers who offer this service are using extended range versions. Only some carriers like Emirates and Singapore Airlines have this aircraft in the region. So the level of comfort offered by the LR version is going to be higher with AI new planes and we expect the number of passengers to be much higher than anticipated earlier," Thulasidas said.

The new AI fleet is also slated to get a dress makeover with fashion designer, Ritu Beri, being asked by the airline to provide its airhostesses with a contemporary look, even as the traditional sari and chooridar kurtas continue to be part of the dress code.

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