SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA– Tata-owned Indian full-service carrier Air India (AI) takes the delivery of the second Boeing 777, formerly operated by Etihad Airways (EY).
The aircraft is taken on lease from United States (USA) based, Altavair AirFinance. Further, the aircraft has registration VT-AEQ and is powered by two GE Aerospace GE90 engines.
Air India Gets 777 from California
Now, let us establish a flight timeline with the help of data from FlightRadar24 (FR24).
According to FR24, the special ferry flight of Boeing 777-300ER, registered as VT-AEQ for Air India, took off on 26 September at around 8:06 PM UTC from San Bernardino (SBD). The flight remained airborne for almost 17 hours and 45 minutes, and it covered a distance of 12,907 Kilometers.
The flight landed safely at Delhi Airport (DEL) India at around 1:51 PM UTC. This is one of the longest flights by Air India, and flying nonstop for 17 Hrs and 45 Mins can be a record flight.
With the delivery of VT-AEQ, the airline now has a fleet of 22 Boeing 777s. This includes 13 Boeing 777-300ERs and 8 777-200s.
Overall, according to planespotters.net, the total fleet of Air India is 121 and is set to expand rapidly with new leases and mega orders for 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.
Here’s the DGCA registration for Ex-Etihad Boeing 777s and their Manufacture Serial Number (MSN).
Registrations are :
1) MSN 39686: VT-AEM
2) MSN 39687: VT-AEN
3) MSN 39688: VT-AEO
4) MSN 39869: VT-AEP
5) MSN 39690: VT-AEQ
6) MSN 41701: VT-AER
A350 Induction
On Friday (September 29, 2023), Air India (AI) announced the successful completion of the acquisition of its inaugural Airbus A350 aircraft, facilitated through a finance lease transaction conducted via HSBC and the GIFT City.
This marks the first wide-body aircraft acquired through GIFT City, India’s premier International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
On Friday (September 29, 2023), Air India (AI) announced the successful completion of the acquisition of its inaugural Airbus A350 aircraft, facilitated through a finance lease transaction conducted via HSBC and the GIFT City.
Subsequently, this marks the first wide-body aircraft acquired through GIFT City, India’s premier International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
The release further emphasizes that Air India has achieved a significant milestone by securing India’s premier Airbus A350-900 aircraft through a finance lease arrangement with HSBC.
“This significant transaction represents the commencement of our aircraft leasing operations within GIFT IFSC, with AIFS assuming a central role in wide-body aircraft financing for the Air India Group. AIFS will play a pivotal role in shaping our future aircraft financing strategy and that of our subsidiary companies,” stated Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer at Air India.
Dipesh Shah, Executive Director of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), emphasized their collaborative efforts with stakeholders to establish regulatory frameworks conducive to aircraft leasing and financing.
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