Air India (AI/AIC), the flag carrier airline of India, was founded in 1932 by J.R.D. Tata as Tata Airlines. Initially, it operated mail services between Karachi and Bombay, using a single-engine de Havilland Puss Moth aircraft. After World War II, the airline became a public limited company and was renamed Air India in 1946. In 1948, it launched international flights, starting with a route to London. Air India became fully government-owned in 1953. Over the decades, it expanded its global network, symbolizing India’s aviation presence worldwide. In 2021, the airline was privatized and returned to Tata Group ownership. Air India is going through something of a renaissance in 2024, with a refreshed brand identity and new aircraft joining the fleet. Let’s take a look at the makeup of the fleet in August 2024.
The Air India fleet today
Today, the Air India fleet comprises 145 aircraft, a mix of widebody and narrowbody jets. Narrowbody jets account for 58% of the fleet, with widebodies making up the remaining 42%.
The newest Air India aircraft
The newest widebody jet in service with Air India is VT-JRI, an Airbus A350-941 built in September 2023. This is one of 6 A350 aircraft originally destined for service with Russian carrier Aeroflot (SU/AFL), and were re-assigned to Air India following sanctions related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since entering service, this aircraft has exclusively performed domestic flights within India to airports including Hyderabad (HYD), Chennai (MAA) and Bengaluru (BLR).
Whilst VT-JRI is the newest aircraft in service, another A350, currently registered F-WHUG, is currently going through the latter stages of flight testing with Airbus at Toulouse Blagnac Airport (TLS) ahead of delivery to Air India.
The newest narrowbody aircraft in the Air India fleet is VT-RIO, an Airbus A320-251neo built in July 2024. Based in Delhi (DEL), the aircraft has operated around 4 flights per day to airports such as Visakhapatnam (VTZ), Hyderabad (HYD) and Ahmedabad (AMD) since being delivered from Toulouse on July 30, 2024. We don’t have a picture of this aircraft yet, so below is a snap of VT-RTZ, another Air India A320neo.
The oldest Air India aircraft
The oldest active Air India aircraft is VT-ALJ, a 16-year-old Boeing 777-337(ER) built in September 2007. Based in Delhi (DEL), this aircraft operates domestic flights to destinations including Mumbai (BOM) and Chennai (MAA), as well as international routes to Toronto (YYZ), New York (JFK) and Chicago (ORD). The aircraft currently wears Air India’s ‘Star Alliance’ livery.
The oldest narrowbody aircraft in the Air India fleet is VT-SCF, a 17-year-old Airbus A319-112 built in October 2006. This aircraft, built as MSN02907, operates daily flights to airports including Phuket (HKT), Vadodara (BDQ) and Coimbatore (CJB) from its base in Dehli (DEL).
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Have you flown on any of these Air India aircraft?
Cover photo: JC_AM, JetPhotos.
![An example full flight summary response from the Flightradar24 API: { "data": [ { "fr24_id": "0987654321", "flight": "SK1415", "callsign": "SAS1415", "operated_as": "SAS", "painted_as": "SAS", "type": "A20N", "reg": "SE-DOY", "orig_icao": "ESSA", "orig_iata": "ARN", "datetime_takeoff": "2023-01-27T05:15:22", "runway_takeoff": "12R", "dest_icao": "EKCH", "dest_iata": "CPH", "dest_icao_actual": "EPWA", "dest_iata_actual": "WAW", "datetime_landed": "2023-01-27T06:15:10", "runway_landed": "27L", "flight_time": 3600, "actual_distance": 1007.74, "circle_distance": 6245, "category": "Passenger", "hex": "4A91F9", "first_seen": "2023-01-27T05:06:22", "last_seen": "2023-01-27T06:18:10", "flight_ended": "true" } ] }](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Flight-summary-API-cover-300x148.jpg)
![An example full flight summary response from the Flightradar24 API: { "data": [ { "fr24_id": "0987654321", "flight": "SK1415", "callsign": "SAS1415", "operated_as": "SAS", "painted_as": "SAS", "type": "A20N", "reg": "SE-DOY", "orig_icao": "ESSA", "orig_iata": "ARN", "datetime_takeoff": "2023-01-27T05:15:22", "runway_takeoff": "12R", "dest_icao": "EKCH", "dest_iata": "CPH", "dest_icao_actual": "EPWA", "dest_iata_actual": "WAW", "datetime_landed": "2023-01-27T06:15:10", "runway_landed": "27L", "flight_time": 3600, "actual_distance": 1007.74, "circle_distance": 6245, "category": "Passenger", "hex": "4A91F9", "first_seen": "2023-01-27T05:06:22", "last_seen": "2023-01-27T06:18:10", "flight_ended": "true" } ] }](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Flight-summary-API-cover-768x378.jpg)
