Air India will introduce a premium-economy product on its Airbus A320neo fleet, as part of a comprehensive cabin refresh that will also see new seats in business and economy classes.
The A320neos will now be configured to seat 164 passengers across three cabin classes. Air India has tapped Collins Aerospace for the new seats.
Air India says two aircraft (VT-RTW and VT-RTZ) have already been retrofitted in the new configuration, with the existing fleet of more than 40 A320neos to undergo refitting across the rest of the year.
To enter service in July, the newly retrofitted pair will operate domestic flights from Delhi to Bengaluru and Chandigarh.
The new configuration will have two more seats than Air India’s existing two-class layout. A number of the airline’s A320neos are configured in a single-class layout of between 180 and 186 seats.
The rollout of a premium economy product comes amid Air India’s ongoing merger with compatriot and sister airline Vistara, which also has premium economy seats on its fleet of A320-family aircraft.
Air India is also rolling out a retrofit programme for its widebody aircraft. So far, the airline has revealed its new products for premium-economy and economy classes – selecting Recaro for the new seats – but has stopped short of unveiling its premium-class seat supplier.
The Star Alliance carrier is also taking delivery of new A350s and Boeing 777s, which are also fitted with the latest cabin products.
“The upgrade of the narrowbody fleet, which operates on domestic and short-haul international network, complements the upgraded widebody experience now available on our A350 fleet and new 777s, and on all other widebodies as they are refitted over the next two years,” says airline chief Campbell Wilson.
