Air India Express to eliminate business class seats next year, with around 100 aircraft scheduled to be removed by the end of the year

New Delhi: Air India Express, which is set to complete the merger of AIX Connect with itself next month, will phase out business class seats on its aircraft by 2025, a senior airline official said.

Currently, the airline, part of Tata Group, has a fleet of 85 aircraft: 25 A320 family aircraft and 60 Boeing 737s. By the end of the year, the total number is expected to be around 100.

The airline has 34 white Boeing 737-8 aircraft and 29 of them have business class seats of various numbers. Their number will increase to 50 by the end of this year.

Typically, whitetail aircraft are originally built for one airline and later put into service by another airline.

The airline official said PTI that aircraft with business class seats will be gradually phased out next year through a re-arrangement of the seats, as business class does not fit into the Air India Express model.

These white-tailed planes have a varying number of business class seats, the official said.

Air India Express’ current fleet consists of 20 A320s, 5 A320 Neos, 26 B737-NGs and 34 B737-8 aircraft.

The airline currently offers economy and business class seats.

The global aviation industry continues to face supply chain issues, which have also led to aircraft delivery delays and shortages as demand for air travel has increased following the coronavirus pandemic.

Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, operates over 380 daily flights to 32 domestic and 14 international destinations.

In February 2023, Tata Group-owned Air India placed orders for 470 aircraft, including 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. Of the total, 400 are narrow-body aircraft.

Tata Group has four airlines: Air India, Vistara, Air India Express and AIX Connect, formerly known as AirAsia India.

The merger of AIX Connect with Air India Express is expected to close on October 1, and that of Vistara with Air India on November 12.