{"id":113144,"date":"2025-09-15T16:32:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T11:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=113144"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:19:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T10:49:54","slug":"air-india-to-return-5-leased-boeing-777s-to-delta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/15\/air-india-to-return-5-leased-boeing-777s-to-delta\/","title":{"rendered":"Air India to Return 5 Leased Boeing 777s to This US Airline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DELHI-<\/strong> Tata Group-owned Air India (AI)<\/a> will return five leased Boeing 777-200LR aircraft to Delta Air Lines (DL) by March 2026, marking the end of their lease agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of these wide-body jets have already been withdrawn from service for maintenance, and the remaining aircraft will be phased out in stages as part of Air India\u2019s fleet transition strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: avgeekwithlens\/ Harsh Tekriwal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Air India to Return 777s to Delta<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Air India confirmed that the return of the Boeing 777-200LRs<\/a> is in line with the planned conclusion of lease terms. As part of this process, the airline has already restructured some of its North American routes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certain services once operated with the 777-200LRs have shifted to the larger Boeing 777-300ER, ensuring continuity while minimizing disruptions to passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leased aircraft, originally sourced from Delta Air Lines, had encountered technical issues during its service period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Air India previously explored extending the lease or acquiring the refurbished planes outright, Delta opted to sell the aircraft to another buyer, ending the possibility of further use by Air India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Eurospot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Current Wide-Body Fleet Strength<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As of now, Air India operates a fleet of 187 aircraft, comprising 127 narrow-body and 60 wide-body planes. Within this, the wide-body segment includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n