Air India fleet

As of March 2025, Air India operates a fleet of both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft with a fleet consisting of Airbus A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, A350 as well as the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787, making a total of 202 aircraft.
In 1932, Air India started operations with the De Havilland Puss Moth aircraft. On 21 February 1960, Air India International inducted its first Boeing 707 named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), thereby becoming the first Asian airline to induct a jet aircraft in its fleet. In 1971, the airline took delivery of its first wide-body aircraft, a Boeing 747-200B named Emperor Ashoka (registered VT-EBD). In 1986, Air India introduced its first Airbus aircraft, an Airbus A310-300. On 4 August 1993, Air India took the delivery of its first Boeing 747-400 named Konark (registered VT-ESM). Indian Airlines introduced the Airbus A320 family of aircraft in 1989 and the smaller Airbus A319s in 2005, which are now used by Air India on domestic and regional routes, respectively. On 11 January 2006, Air India announced an order for 68 jets – 8 Boeing 777-200LR, 15 Boeing 777-300ER, 18 Boeing 737-800 and 27 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. The eighteen Boeing 737s ordered were later transferred to Air India Express when Air India took delivery of the Dreamliners. After the merger with Indian Airlines in 2007, Air India inducted the Airbus A321 in its fleet to operate mainly on short-haul international routes and leased the Airbus A330s to operate on medium-haul international routes.
The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on 26 July 2007, which was named Andhra Pradesh, and the first Boeing 777-300ER on 9 October 2007, which was named as Bihar. The carrier sold three Airbus A300 and one Boeing 747 in March 2009 for US$18.75 million, due to debts. It also sold five of its eight Boeing 777-200LR aircraft to Etihad Airways in December 2013. Air India received its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on 6 September 2012, commencing flights on 19 September 2012, which along with 777s, have since replaced the aging and fuel-inefficient 747s in the fleet of international routes. On 21 April 2014, Air India decided to sell its remaining three Boeing 777-200LRs as well, citing higher operating costs. On 24 April 2014, Air India issued a tender for leasing 14 Airbus A320 aircraft for up to six years, to strengthen its domestic network.
Many years later, in December 2022, a day after the merger announcement with Vistara, it was reported that Air India would order nearly five hundred new aircraft. On 14 February 2023, Air India announced an order for 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing consisting of 210 A320neo family, 40 A350, 190 737 MAX for Air India Express, 20 787-9 and 10 777-9 aircraft at a cost of US$70 billion, with deliveries beginning in late 2023. The airline announced that it would be leasing 36 aircraft, 25 narrow-body aircraft and 11 wide-body aircraft, till the delivery of the newly ordered planes. On 26 March 2023, Air India took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo, albeit a leased one. As part of its fleet restructuring, Air India unveiled its new logo, livery and branding on 10 August 2023 and received its first re-branded aircraft, an Airbus A350-900, on 23 December 2023. On 22 April 2024, Air India sold four Boeing 747 aircraft to the US company AerSale, which will convert two into freighters and scrap the other two.
Air India has planned a $400 million refit program for its legacy aircraft fleet. On 16 September 2024, the first phase of the refit began in which 27 older A320neo and 40 Boeing widebody aircraft will be retrofitted with new seats, cabin and livery. VT-EXN, an A320neo, has been parked in a hangar and will be the first to be retrofitted. The aircraft will be delivered and enter service in December 2024 after its prototyping phase and certification. The rest of the 27 narrowbody aircraft's upgradation and modernisation will continue at the rate of 3 to 4 aircraft per month. The upgrade of the narrowbodies is set to be completed by mid-2025.
On 12 November 2024, with the merger of Vistara and Air India, all of Vistara's 70 aircraft were transferred to Air India.
The airline revealed that it had placed another order of 100 aircraft from Airbus on 9 December 2024, converted from its options from the previous order. The deal comprised an additional 10 A350 aircraft and 90 A320 family aircraft.
As of March 2025, the first retrofitted legacy narrowbody aircraft, VT-EXN, had returned to the operational fleet while the rest of 26 legacy narrowbody fleet would complete the being retrofitted by the 3rd quarter of the year. The first of the legacy widebody aircraft, a Boeing 787, would be sent for retrofitting by April 2025 followed by a Boeing 777 later in 2025 with the entire program expected to be completed by mid 2027.
As of March 2025, Air India operates the following aircraft: