Air India's domestic passengers will also get to fly the Boeing 787 aircraft, popularly called the Dreamliner.
In an effort to build up enough crew resources, the airline plans to deploy the new aircraft on domestic metro routes and short-haul international routes starting from the second week of June. The proposed deployment on these routes will be an interim measure and it would be wrong to say the aircraft will only operate on domestic routes, a person familiar with the development said.
The decision could see the airline use the new aircraft to operate one of the scheduled return flights from Delhi to Mumbai and Hyderabad that are currently operated with another aircraft for about 6-12 weeks. The new aircraft are also likely to operate on short-haul international routes such as flights to Singapore and Dubai, sources added.
The new aircraft can typically carry between 210 and 250 passengers on routes of 14,200 km to 15,200 km, although the distance between the metros is a fraction of what the aircraft can fly.
Sources explained that training for crew is related to the number of landings they undertake on the aircraft. If the airline deploys the aircraft on international long-haul routes, such as operating to Europe, Australia and the United States, the training process will become a long-drawn-out process.
The first of the 27 Boeing 787 aircraft is expected to join the fleet at the end of the month. The aircraft should enter into commercial service in the domestic skies about a week after arriving in India.
Air India is the third global airline after All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines to receive the aircraft. Air India was to receive the first Boeing 787 aircraft in May 2008 but the delivery got pushed forward to the end of the month for a variety of reasons, including manufacturing delays.