Air India has announced the successful completion of the retrofit programme for its legacy Airbus A320neo fleet, with the last of the 27 aircraft returning to service with new cabin interiors and the airline’s new livery.
With these retrofitted aircraft, combined with 14 newly delivered A320neos and the A320s integrated following the merger of Vistara into Air India, the airline now operates 104 A320 Family aircraft, all featuring new or upgraded cabin interiors.
The cabin retrofit programme began in September 2024 as part of a broader US$400 million initiative to modernise Air India’s entire legacy fleet. Air India says the retrofit programme for all 27 legacy A320neo aircraft has been completed within a one-year time frame.
The upgraded Air India A320 cabin experience
The retrofit programme for the 27 A320neos involved retrofitting all the aircraft with modern interiors, each in a three-class cabin configuration. This work has included the installation of:
- 3,564 new economy-class seats
- 648 new premium economy-class seats
- 216 new business-class seats
- 450+ metres of premium leather and 15,000+ metres of fabric
- 5,000+ square metres of new carpet
- 8,000+ kg of paint, to repaint the legacy aircraft in Air India’s new livery
All seats come with USB-A and USB-C ports, enabling travellers to keep their personal electronic devices charged. The ports also help them to access ‘Vista Stream’, Air India’s on-board inflight entertainment (IFE) streaming service, which offers nearly 900 hours of global cinematic content to be streamed on passengers’ personal devices.
Air India says the work has been paying off, as it has been consistently recording a Net Promoter Score (NPS) ranging between 45 and 50 points each month for its narrowbody aircraft operations.
Campbell Wilson, CEO & managing director of Air India said: “We continue to make good progress on the upgradation of our fleet. With over 100 of our A320 Family aircraft now featuring modern interiors, our guests will enjoy a superior travel experience across our extensive network.”
As we mark the end of the first phase of our narrowbody retrofit, we remain committed to elevating passenger experience and offering cabin products of global standards to our guests.”
You can watch a video about Air India’s legacy A320 fleet retrofit completion here.
Retrofit of other aircraft in progress
Beginning in 2026, Air India will retrofit 13 of its legacy Airbus A321 aircraft. These aircraft, together with the ex-Vistara fleet, are being sequenced for cabin refits and new livery painting over the next year.
Air India has also commenced the widebody cabin retrofit programme for its legacy Boeing 787-8 aircraft, with the first of 26 aircraft (VT-ANT) having flown to a Boeing facility in Victorville, California (United States) in July 2025. The programme, which the airline says is now on a steady schedule for completion by mid-2027, will introduce brand-new interiors featuring a three-class configuration with business class, premium economy, and economy-class cabins.
Starting in early 2027, Air India will also retrofit 13 of its legacy Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, aiming for completion by October 2028, with the timeline having shifted due to supply chain delays.
A320s now operating 3,024 flights per week
Thos 104 A320 Family aircraft featuring new or upgraded interiors now operates 3,024 weekly flights across Air India’s 82 domestic and short-haul international routes.
Domestic India routes: All flights on the busiest domestic routes such as Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Hyderabad, Delhi-Bengaluru, Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi-Chennai, Mumbai-Bengaluru, Mumbai-Hyderabad, Mumbai-Chennai and Mumbai-Kolkata, in addition to many others.
Short-haul international routes: All flights to and from Bangkok, Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Bali (Denpasar), Manila, Mauritius, Malé (Maldives), Riyadh, Jeddah, and most flights to and from Singapore.
