After $400M Investment Air India Unveils First Refurbished Boeing 787-8

Picture : @airindia/X

The first refurbished wide-body Boeing 787-8 aircraft of Air India landed at Delhi Airport , more than three years after the Tata Group-owned airline announced a USD 400-million investment plan to carry out a comprehensive refit of its legacy twin-aisle fleet.

The aircraft, VT-ANT, operated a non-stop ferry flight from San Bernardino in the United States, flying over the Pacific, and landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi at 10 pm, the airline said.

San Bernardino International Airport in California acts as a major hub for maintenance, painting and storage of Boeing aircraft.

Air India welcomed its first retrofitted, twin-aisle B787-8 (registered VT-ANT), marking the successful completion of a nose-tail cabin refresh of the first of 26 B787 aircraft, the airline said.

Loss-making private carrier Air India’s legacy widebody fleet comprises Boeing 787-8s and B-777s. These aircraft operate on several long-haul destinations across the UK, Europe, the USA and the Far East.

The aircraft, which received comprehensive interior upgrades at Boeing’s modification centre in Victorville, California, was subsequently painted in Air India’s striking new livery at AeroPro, an FAA Part-145 certified aircraft paint facility in California, the airline said.

Following the requisite regulatory certifications and clearances, the aircraft operated a non-stop ferry flight from San Bernardino to Delhi, it stated.