LONDON – It is understood that Air India will receive six Airbus A350-900s originally destined for Aeroflot as part of the Indian carrier’s blockbuster order.
According to @ArenaJet on Twitter, Air India will receive the following Airbus A350s on the production line:
- MSN589
- MSN592
- MSN594
- MSN558
- MSN554
- MSN555
The news outlet also noted that all six aircraft will be delivered in the second half of this year.
The A350 Part of the Air India Order…
The A350 side of the blockbuster order made by Air India includes six A350-900s and 34 A350-1000 aircraft.
It could be suggested that the breakdown of this order was probably utilized in order to sell the six Airbus A350s that were due to head in the direction of Aeroflot and secure some vital delivery slots.
Air India isn’t the first carrier, however, to take advantage of these slots.
In May, it was revealed that Turkish Airlines would take six more Airbus A350-900s, again originally destined for Aeroflot, in the wake of sanctions caused by the Ukraine Crisis.
These aircraft were delivered between last year and this year.
The Russian carrier initially ordered 22 A350-900s, but as sanctions from the West continued to harden, this disabled Airbus’ ability to actually deliver the jets.
What About Seat Configuration?
At this stage, it is unclear what the seat configurations will be for these Air India Airbus A350-900s originally destined for Aeroflot.
What we can base it on is the Turkish Airlines aircraft that was recently delivered and remain in the ex-Aeroflot combination.
The A350s taken back by Turkish also have a two-class deck configuration for 329 passengers: 32 in business class in a 1-2-1 configuration and 297 in economy class in a 3-3-3 configuration.
The reason that the cabins could remain the same is due to supply chain issues that some of Airbus’ suppliers are struggling with at this present moment.
Won’t Be Too Much of a Loss for Aeroflot…
This won’t really provide too much of a blow for Aeroflot at this point because the airline has made some purchases of its own in recent months.
Back in August, the airline made an order for over 300 Russian-built aircraft, which is expected to be used as part of a nationwide strategy of reducing the use of Western aircraft.
This is also in response to aircraft having to be cannibalized for spare parts due to a lack thereof.
Then, just last month, they purchased 10 Boeing 777-300ERs that were under lease from the lessor directly, meaning they have enough aircraft currently to keep operating.
Of course, the pressure will be on for Aeroflot to acquire new aircraft, but in the grand scheme of things, they have more to worry about currently.
Good News for Air India Either Way…
Either way, this is good news for Air India as it now means that the delivery slots are secured and ready for the second half of this year.
This also represents the beginning of the next stage in the airline’s fleet renewal plans, as well as the rejuvenation of the overall brand on the international stage.
But for now, all eyes are on Air India to see what routes will be serviced with these Airbus A350s.
