Air India’s flagship Airbus A350 operates on Delhi-Dubai route to mark international debut

Dubai flight on Air India flagship aircraft: Air India on Wednesday kickstarted flight operations on the buzzing Delhi-Dubai route by pressing its brand-new Airbus A350-900 aircraft in the airline’s bold new livery. As per a company statement, the commencement of the Delhi-Duabi flight has seen Air India’s flagship aircraft marking its international debut. 

Air India has become the sole carrier to operate the A350 between India and Dubai. Air India celebrated the occasion with pre-departure ceremonies, with guests at both airports presented with A350 memorabilia, said a statement. 

At Dubai airport, Satish Kumar Sivan, Consul General of India, Dubai,  Jamal Al Hai, Deputy CEO, Dubai Airport and Mr Mohammed Abdulla Lengawi, Director General, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority lit the ceremonial lamp the inaugurate the aircraft’s first departure from Dubai, the statement further added. 

Air India’s A350-900 aircraft features a three-class cabin configuration with 316 seats: 28 private Business suites with full-flat beds, 24 Premium Economy seats with extra legroom and other amenities, and 264 spacious Economy seats, added the airliner’s statement. 

“All seats on the aircraft feature the latest-generation Panasonic eX3 in-flight entertainment system and HD screens that offer more than 2,200 hours of entertainment content from around the world,” the company statement added. Notably, Air India started inducting the A350s earlier this year as part of the 470 new aircraft order that Air India placed a year ago. 

Air India currently operates a total of 72 flights a week to Dubai from five Indian cities, of which 32 flights are from Delhi. In terms of the schedule of Air India’s A350 flights between Delhi and Dubai effective May 1, 2024 AI995 will see daily operations between Delhi and Dubai with departure at 8:45 pm and arrival at 10:45 pm (IST). 

Besides, AI996 will see daily departure from Dubai at 12:15 am and arrive in Delhi at 4:55 am, said the company statement.