Air India Trims Global Wings, Cuts 15% Wide-body Flights

With immediate effect, Air India would cut its international wide-body flight operations by 15% "at least" till the middle of July. The airline uses its wide-body aircraft to run over 70 foreign flights every day.

Due to a number of variables, such as the closure of numerous nations' airspace, longer travel times to and from the West, and extra scrutiny of Boeing 787s following the AI 171 incident on 12 June, there are fewer twin aisles available.

Between June 2 and June 17, AI operated 462 flights on its wide-body fleet of Boeing 787s, B777s, and Airbus A350s while cancelling 83 flights during that time. This indicates that, to the inconvenience of passengers, 15.2% of the 545 scheduled flights were cancelled.

AI has thereby reduced wide-body flights by 15% by using that ratio and matching schedules to actual flying capacity. Even though the introduction of new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus has been much slower than expected, AI has overextended itself in the last two years in terms of crew and equipment by drastically increasing flights.

Therefore, if an aircraft was grounded or delayed, it affected the flight it was scheduled to conduct next. Since the DGCA ordered additional checks of B787 Dreamliners last Thursday, this has gotten worse.

Enhanced Safety Check on Boeing 777 Fleet

In a statement released on June 18, AI stated that the 15% reduction essentially increases the number of reserve planes available to handle unforeseen interruptions and will help it guarantee operational stability, improve efficiency, and limit passenger discomfort.

The airline has said that it will conduct more thorough safety inspections on its fleet of Boeing 777s. Even if the capacity reduction occurs during the busiest travel season, the airline will at least be able to notify customers in advance that their flights would be cancelled and use AI to assist them in finding other arrangements.

According to AI's statement, the investigative authorities are still working to determine what caused the (AI 171) accident. The DGCA had ordered AI's fleet of B787-8/9 aircraft to undergo "enhanced safety inspections".

Inspections on 26 of the 33 B787s have already been finished and are approved for service; the remaining B787s will undergo inspection in the next several days. The fact that 26 aircraft have received clearance demonstrates our commitment to safety protocols.

Ongoing Middle East Situation Also Adding Pain to the Agony

The statement also stated that AI's top priority is still ensuring the safety of its passengers, crew, and aircraft, and it will continue to work with authorities to do so.

AI added that there have been some disruptions in its international operations over the last six days, resulting in 83 cancellations. This is because of the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, night curfews (at airports abroad), the continuous enhanced safety inspections, and the necessary caution being taken by the engineering staff and Air India pilots.

AI promises to let passengers know ahead of time and try its best to get them a seat on another aircraft. Additionally, passengers will have the option of receiving a complete refund or rescheduling their trip at no additional cost.