An era of widebodies

The geographical tensions have meant that there is a need for longer range aircraft which will help the airlines sustain large areas which are not available for emergency diversions, and also circuitous routes.

Hyderabad was decked up for Wings India in March 2022. The last time the event was held was in March 2020, it was days before the country went into a lockdown. It was a relief of sorts for the aviation community to meet in person. To celebrate the return of in-person events, Airbus was at the forefront- getting the Airbus A350 XWB to Hyderabad after a round of special invitation flights at Delhi and Mumbai.

At the biennial aviation event, the Airbus A350 was a crowd puller, being the largest aircraft at the event. Aircraft tours are standard. Such appearances see representatives of airlines, airports, and the media fraternity being invited to experience the new features of an aircraft. But what caught everybody's eye was a viral photo of Tata group patriarch Ratan Tata looking at the A350! He was part of the special invitees on the demo flight. For an aviation geek at heart who even flew the F-16 back in 2007 at Aero India, it must have been a fascinating experience.

It was significant, too, that Tata's glimpse of the Airbus A350 came two months after the Tata Group took control of Air India and Air India Express. For Air India to continue its expansion, it is time to look at newer planes that will be delivered over the next decade to replace its existing fleet of B777s, a generation older, and expand to newer geographies. The B777s form the backbone of its network to North America, a market where it was leading in capacity until United decided to fight back and other airlines wanted to join the party.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, while not that old, will also come up for replacement a decade down the line, and orders now spread across multiple years will take care of Air India's long-term fleet development. The 787s of Air India are the - 8 variant which is the older and the smaller variant.

Importance of widebody aircraft