Air India unveiled its brand new A350 in January at the Wings Airshow in Hyderabad.
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Air India unveiled its first-ever Airbus A350 at the Wings Airshow in Hyderabad this month.
The aircraft features a new-and-improved cabin complete with privacy doors in business class.
After touring the A350, I think customers will be pleased with the upgrades.
Air India welcomed its new Airbus A350 in December — a first for the nation's flag carrier — and it's an incredible improvement from the airline's notoriously mediocre product.
The next-generation aircraft represents a new era for Air India, which debuted the Airbus model on Monday. The carrier has been undergoing a transformation since October 2021, when it was privatized by the Tata Group after years of decline under government control.
To see the progress, I toured Air India's new A350 widebody at the Wings Airshow in Hyderabad last week — and I think customers have a lot to look forward to.
After being nationalized by the Indian government in the 1950s, the Tata Group bought back Air India in October 2021.
An Air India Airbus A320 aircraft. The airline is now owned by the Tata Group.
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Air India started as Tata Air Mail in 1928 before officially being established as India's first commercial airline in 1932.
The full-circle moment represents a much-needed change for Air India as its reputation has turned sour over the decades.
Tape is sometimes used the patch Air India's aging seats, and the tray tables are pretty flimsy.
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Air India is notorious for its sometimes crummy product and unreliability, but the Tata takeover signals what it hopes is a new direction for the carrier.
Back in its heyday, Air India was considered the gold standard for air travel with fancy on board lounges and elite premium seats.
An Air India Boeing 747 lounge when it was still under Tata control in the middle of last century.
Tata.com
Singapore Airlines — today considered one of the best airlines in the world — actually used Air India as inspiration for its business model.
Under government ownership, however, the carrier found itself in disarray.
Air India Star Alliance livery. The airline struggled under state ownership.
Most representative of its decline are its planes, which Air India let deteriorate to the point where seats were regularly broken and dirty.
I found duct tape on business-class seats.
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Customers commonly complain of broken seats, long delays, and unclean cabins, according to TripAdvisor reviews.
This caused some customers to turn to competing carriers like American Airlines or United Airlines when flying from the US to India.
For instance, a reporter at The Points Guy said Air India's business class was the "worst" she ever flew.
There was little to no privacy onboard Air India's legacy business class.
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The review from Samantha Rosen was in 2020, before the Tata takeover.
Rosen's story came three years after another TPG reporter, Zach Honig, published a story titled "20 Things I Hated About My Air India Business-Class Flight to NYC."
And Reuters has cited challenges the Tata Group would face, pointing to Air India's "worn-out fleet" and business-class seats in "poor repair."
The current seats have little to no privacy, you can see across the entire row to the window.
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"If you don't have newer airplanes or airplanes that are reliable, no matter what you do, you are going to have a problem," an unnamed aviation industry executive told Reuters in October 2021, shortly after Tata won the bid for Air India.
The New York Times has reported a similar state of affairs, noting poor customer service and delayed flights.
The airline had struggled with punctuality, with its on-time performance historically regularly below standard.
Air India has in the past struggled with on-time performance.
SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images
On-time performance is a focal point for new management, and Air India has had some good months since privatization — like in October 2022, when it had a 90% on-time rate, Simple Flying reported.
Still, the carrier has had its bad months. For example, in November 2023, its on-time performance dropped to 62.5%, according to the Times of India.
While other airlines like Emirates have kept up with customer expectations in an ever-changing industry, Air India simply let its product slip.
Competitor Emirates has one of the best-rated business classes, seen here on its Airbus A380.
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Asian and Gulf competitors, including Singapore, Qatar, Etihad, and Emirates, are considered today's top-tier for service and comfort, thanks to the upgrades they've made to their products over the years.
In an interview with Air India’s new CEO, Campbell Wilson, he acknowledged the airline’s various product faults to Business Insider.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the airline had a long way to go, but promised improvement.
Rajanish Kakade/AP
"We acknowledge we've got a way to go, but despite the shortcomings we have, we want to at least be as good as we can and make updates in key areas," Wilson said.
However, he pointed out the millions in dollars of investments the airline has made in the two years since Tata took over.
Air India has dozens of legacy widebodies like the Boeing 777 pictured that still feature a dated cabin.
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These include $400 million in cabin refurbishments that Air India hopes will bring renewed comfort to its long-haul fleet.
For example, Air India plans to modernize its legacy Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 widebodies, which will be complete by the end of 2025.
Air India's legacy business class does not offer direct-aisle access to window seat passengers.
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"By the end of 2025, the entire legacy widebody fleet will also be upgraded to match what we're getting on the A350," Wilson said, "So, essentially, our fleet will be completely reborn by then."
But one of the most noteworthy moves is the 470-strong order for Airbus and Boeing planes — the first delivery being its new A350-900.
Air India's A350 on display at the Wings Airshow in Hyderabad.
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International routes for the A350 have yet to be announced. For now, the carrier is flying the plane domestically, and its maiden flight was on Monday from Bengaluru to Mumbai.
"At the moment, the A350s are operating flights that wouldn't otherwise exist because they are largely scheduled to accommodate the pilot familiarization process," Wilson told BI, noting the A350s tend to be kept out of places with fog, like Delhi.
Air India officially unveiled the jet at the Wings Airshow in Hyderabad on January 18, and I was among the first to see the interior.
The flight attendants showed off the new uniforms.
And I’d be lying if I didn’t say Air India's new product is a significant upgrade — take a look.
The author sitting in the new Air India business class with the privacy door closed.
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Air India expects to take delivery of one new plane every six days throughout 2024, according to the company.
Onboard, passengers will find 316 seats split across three cabins: 28 in business, 24 in premium economy, and 264 in coach.
The business-class cabin had private seats.
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Similar to Emirates, premium economy is a new addition for Air India.
It is important to note that the interior is that of Russian carrier Aeroflot — it is not Air India’s original design.
Aeroflot Russian Airlines Boeing 777-300ER jet aircraft at Moscow-Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia.
Leonid Faerberg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
When sanctions tanked Russia's ability to get new planes, Airbus had to reallocate the A350 orders that Aeroflot originally placed.
However, Air India has added its own flare to the product to show off its new-and-improved branding.
The glassware features a purple color scheme.
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Hues of purple — an ode to its merger with Vistara — are spread throughout the cabin.
Starting in business class, customers will find full privacy doors, lie-flat beds, and giant TVs.
The middle section has a divider between the two seats for total privacy.
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I think the cabin is representative of the "elite" carrier that Air India aims to one day be.
"Fundamentally, what makes a great airline a great airline is its consistency," Wilson told BI. "Then it's the other factors — is it a world-class seat, entertainment, catering, and service? Is the service refined, genuine, and warm? All those things."
The lie-flat bed has plush linens, headphones, an amenity kit, and pajamas for added comfort.
The shawl-like cover on the bed was impressively silky.
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The amenity kit has items like an eyemask, lotion, and toothpaste, and there is no shortage of power as the seat features a USB and universal outlet.
The inflight entertainment system includes over 2,200 hours of streaming with everything from Hollywood to Bollywood.
Air India has updated its table set up and inflight menu as well.
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The same inflight entertainment will be installed on Air India's legacy widebody planes that are undergoing the $400 million retrofit, as well as newly acquired Boeing 777-200LRs and all future widebody planes, according to the airline.
Moreover, all customers are set to have direct-aisle access — a significant change to its out-of-date legacy product.
The middle section of Air India's legacy business class, which is in a 2x3x2 layout.
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The old cabin is in a 2×3×2 layout, meaning even in business class, customers could find themselves in the dreaded middle seat.
Also featured is tons of storage, including a closet and cubbies.
The double closet is featured in the middle seats, while the window seats have a single closet.
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The old business class seat had barely any storage, so the closet is a key upgrade.
And the soft product is impressively detailed — I could clearly see Air India's new brand identity.
The Maharaja is a significant part of Air India's current and historical branding.
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The soft products include things like plates, utensils, the amenity kit, linens, food, and service — so anything not physically attached to the aircraft. The hard product would be the seat itself.
My favorite soft prodcut items, in particular, were the purple cheese plate and the convertible pillow.
The cheese plate forming the Vista logo.
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When pieced together, the plate resembled the new "Vista" logo that looks like a gold window frame. Meanwhile, the two-in-one pillow can be changed into a mattress pad.
Behind business class, Air India has incorporated premium economy in a 2x4x2 layout.
Air India's new premium economy.
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Premium economy is becoming popular among international airlines as a middle ground between coach and business class.
These seats are bigger than regular coach and have added amenities, like more storage and legroom.
The seat offers adjustable headrests, a legrest, and good legroom.
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The legroom in premium economy is 38 inches, and the seat width is 18.5 inches, according to Air India. Customers will also enjoy nice linens and headphones.
The 13.3-inch seatback screen and legrest are also features absent in regular economy.
The TVs in premium economy are bigger than coach.
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Premium economy customers can kick their legs up and relax thanks to the legrest.
The back of the plane features Air India's new economy cabin, configured in a 3x3x3 layout.
New economy cabin on Air India, though the seats do not have footrests like the legacy product.
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The A350 can accommodate 10 abreast seats, but Air India wanted to offer more space to customers and decided to install rows of nine instead.
The seat is up to par with competitors, with 31 inches of pitch and the regular bells and whistles of a modern coach product.
Economy offers 31 inches of pitch.
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Customers will find a headrest, seatback pocket, seatback screen, power ports, a blanket and pillow, and a good recline.
I did notice a few added touches, including the cupholder that could have been inspired by Singapore.
The cupholder is fit into the tray table.
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I like a cupholder because it means I don't have to have the tray table out anytime I get a drink. A similar one is featured in Singapore's A380 economy cabin.
Overall, I was extremely impressed with Air India's new long-haul cabin.
Behind business class was a stocked bar with alcohol and snacks.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
After flying on Air India's legacy 777 in both economy and business, the A350 is a night-and-day difference.
I think the sliding door was a good decision, and a staple feature that customers look for in a top tier business class.
Business class is basically a bunch of enclosed cubicles.
Meanwhile, I don't think customers need to dread flying economy anymore.
The lavatories are also clean and modern.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
When I flew Air India's legacy economy last week, my entire seat was broken — including the inflight entertainment, so it was a rough journey.
As long as Air India can keep its seats working and stay on course with orders and refurbishments, I have high hopes.
The A350 on display in Hyderabad.
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"The list of things to do at Air India, and the list of opportunities ahead of us, are astonishing," CEO Wilson told BI. "And, in most of these cases, it is not a matter of 'Is there a case to do it?' but 'What do we do first?'"
