Air India Expands Routes Amid Fleet Retrofit Delays

Air India plans to increase flights from March 30 on routes to the UK, Europe, Asia, and Africa despite a temporary reduction in its operational fleet due to a retrofit program. The airline will suspend its Mumbai-Melbourne and Kochi-London Gatwick routes temporarily amid modernization efforts of its aircraft.

Air India, in an ambitious move, is set to boost its flight frequency to the UK, Europe, Far East Asia, and Africa starting March 30, despite a temporary drop in its operational fleet size.

This decision comes as the airline undertakes an extensive retrofit program for its legacy Boeing 787 planes, scheduled to rejoin the fleet by October. Meanwhile, delays have pushed the start of Boeing 777 refurbishments to early 2026.

The temporary fleet reduction has led to the suspension of Mumbai-Melbourne and Kochi-London Gatwick services, but modernization across narrow body aircraft is proceeding on schedule for completion by mid-2025.