Air India Express (IX, Delhi International) will grow its fleet to 110 aircraft by March 31, 2025, CEO Aloke Singh has told the Moneycontrol news outlet. The aircraft, all A320-200s, will be supplied by Air India (AI, Delhi International). Both carriers are owned by conglomerate Tata Sons.
"As part of our fleet expansion, we will receive planes from Air India as there has been a slowdown in the deliveries of our Boeing aircraft," he said.
Air India has already handed over the first two A320s to its sister operator. Air India Express presently has 91 aircraft in its fleet, including twenty-five A320-200s, five A320-200Ns, thirty-five B737-8s, and twenty-six B737-800s. It also has 105 B737-8s and fifty B737-10s on order.
Recent industrial action at the aircraft manufacturer has further delayed the already-slowed B737 MAX deliveries to customers. While Singh did not say when the deliveries from Boeing will restart, he did say the Air India-supplied aircraft meant its fleet and network expansion plans would not be impacted.
Air India Express wants to grow its passenger traffic by over 50% within the next couple of years, relying on new routes, new destinations, and a bigger fleet to do so. The airline intends to fly to a total of 55 destinations by the end of March 2025, from 48 now. Apart from adding domestic routes, it will start flights to additional international airports.
