30,000 parts required to make Air India’s grounded B-787s airworthy

Dhaka: At the IATA AGM in Istanbul, Air India’s Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson spoke about the challenges of getting the carrier’s grounded Boeing 787 fleet back in the air.

“We’re noticing it most acutely because we had 13 [Boeing] 787s grounded for many years as a consequence of Air India not having the funds to pay for spare parts, [so it was] robbing aircraft to keep others flying. There were 30,000 spare parts we needed to procure to get these aircraft up and running,” he said.

Till now, mounting debt and poor finances meant that the airline’s network was affected due to its grounded fleet.

Now, not only will the airline have 70 new aircraft by March 2024, but many of its planes will also have refurbished interiors or be in the process of being retrofitted.

Air India has set aside USD 400 million to improve the structural conditions of its planes, and the older aircraft will have their interiors completely removed and replaced with new ones.

The plan is that by mid-2025, all of Air India’s twin-aisle planes will offer new cabins with onboard Wi-Fi.

The need for reliable and efficient MRO capabilities is also not lost on Air India. Wilson said that they need to have a bit more capability in-house. The airline uses Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) for its maintenance needs and has also built its own engineering capabilities since becoming a private player.

The carrier also reached an agreement to set up a new Engineering Warehouse near Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). As per the plan, the facility, which will be over 55,000 square feet, is expected to be operational in the coming days.

Moreover, the airline is also keen on acquiring the government-owned (AIESL), as per reports.