Indiapore Airlines: Air India to lease three Singapore Airlines B777-300ERs

Move over Qatar Pacific, here comes Indiapore Airlines!

Per Simple Flying, Air India has announced plans to lease three Boeing 777-300ERs from Singapore Airlines, which will help phase out its older, less fuel-efficient Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.

This looks to be a stopgap solution, as Air India awaits the commencement of deliveries from its blockbuster 470 aircraft order placed during the Paris Air Show. The 250 Airbus and 220 Boeing aircraft will start being delivered from late 2023, though the bulk will only arrive in mid-2025.

But what can passengers expect onboard Indiapore Airlines?

Air India leasing Singapore Airlines B777-300ERs

Air India currently operates 49 widebody aircraft, comprising of:

• 27 B787-8s
• 14 B777-300ERs
• 8 B777-200LRs

It’s the fuel-guzzling B777-200LRs which the airline is looking to replace, in particular the three oldest ones which have been rife with complaints of broken seats, non-functional lavatories and inoperable inflight entertainment systems.

To that end, Air India plans to lease three B777-300ERs from Singapore Airlines, which have 264 seats in a four-cabin configuration, versus 238 seats in a three-cabin configuration on the B777-200LR. 

Moreover, the B777-300ER is relatively premium heavy, with 30% of the seats in a cabin above economy (versus 18% for the B777-200LR), so this should see improved yields. 

While we don’t have a confirmed date for the commencement of the lease, the three B777-300ERs leased to Air India are almost certainly going to be:

• 9V-SWD
• 9V-SWE
• 9V-SWF

These aircraft, along with 9V-SWA, were retired in May 2021 ahead of schedule as they were deemed surplus to fleet requirements.

9V-SWA has since become N855BC, owned by Boeing Capital Corporation and stored at the Victorville boneyard. But SWD, SWE and SWF are still parked at Changi, and have been since the start of the pandemic.

I’m surprised that Singapore Airlines has aircraft to spare, quite frankly, given the post-COVID surge in demand and the continued delays of the B777-9. 

What will “Indiapore Airlines” look like?

The idea of Indiapore Airlines is so intriguing because I can’t think of two more diametrically opposed carriers.

In the one corner, Singapore Airlines, which has won every award they’ve created a category for and then some. In the other, Air India, the epitome of dysfunction, which makes headlines for pilots fighting in the cockpit, showing up drunk to work (for the third time), refusing to depart until a “particular woman” join as co-pilot, where flights get turned around because of rats onboard, where a passenger gets peed on (not the airline’s fault) and the crew do nothing (the airline’s fault).

Back when I worked in India, company policy was that Air India was not to be flown unless absolutely unavoidable, since our insurance didn’t cover self-inflicted problems (till today I don’t know whether they were kidding). My Indian colleagues told me they’d fly Indigo, they’d fly SpiceJet, hell, they’d drive if they had to, just don’t put them on an Air India flight.

Being the rebel that I am, I defied the mandate by booking an Air India flight from Riyadh to Mumbai, and instantly regretted it.

All that aside, I can tell you that Singapore Airlines’ B777-300ERs will be a quantum leap forward from Air India’s, regardless of whether you’re at the pointy end of the plane or the back of the bus.

Take Business Class, for example. Air India’s B777-300ERs (dubbed “the worst Business Class I ever flew” by The Points Guy) offer angled-flat seats in a 2-3-2 high density layout. There’s virtually no privacy or storage space, and the less said about that colour scheme the better!

That will improve to full-flat seats in a 1-2-1 all-aisle access configuration on Singapore Airlines’ B777-300ERs. Complain all you want about the shortcomings of the 2013 Business Class seat; I think any passenger would rejoice when they step onboard and see this instead of the usual.

Air India, to my knowledge, does not currently sell the First Class cabin on either the B777-300ER or B777-200LR, the two aircraft types equipped with it. First Class was supposed to be reinstated on the Delhi-London Heathrow route in May 2023, but I can’t find any inventory loaded. Perhaps they plan to deploy the Singapore Airlines aircraft on that route, and if so passengers will be trading this…

…for this. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as to which you’d rather fly!

Air India will obviously repaint the aircraft in their own livery, but as for whether they’ll be making any cosmetic changes to the cabins, recent history suggests no.

Since December 2022, Air India has been flying a handful of ex-Delta Boeing 777-200LRs. These aircraft are equipped with Delta One Suites, which feature direct aisle access and doors, as well as Premium Economy, which Air India has historically not offered. 

In terms of the interiors, it appears the only thing Air India did was scratch off the red Delta logos from the seats- no new upholstery, not even changes to the headrest covers, like what Qatar Airways did on its leased Cathay Pacific jets. In fact, the lack of rebranding has even led to significant confusion in some quarters!

Here are first cabin photos of @airindiain 's VT-AEF and of seats which may be sold as premium economy (Y+) on these 5 ex – @Delta #B777-200LRs.
For sake of comparison, I have added a photo of the Y+ cabin as flown by @Delta.
Thank you @sachmihika for the photos.#AvGeek#PaxEx pic.twitter.com/Iykg9QWGOx

— VT-VLO (@Vinamralongani) December 12, 2022

Hello from #Vihaan @airindiain #VTAEF pic.twitter.com/t47dunbwvd

— Saif (@saif380) December 11, 2022

The big difference therefore will be the soft product, i.e. everything not seat-related. The inflight entertainment selection will be much smaller than KrisWorld, there won’t be any Book the Cook, and the pillows and bedding will be different. 

On the plus side, passengers can look forward to better amenities kits than what they’d receive on Singapore Airlines. Air India has announced a partnership with TUMI to produce amenities kits and sleepware for passengers in First and Business Class, and the mock ups look really good. 

Conclusion

Air India will be leasing three Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to replace its ageing Boeing 777-200LRs. These will have SIA’s 2013 First and Business Class seats installed, which together with the Premium Economy cabin will make for a much enhanced passenger experience. 

This won’t be the first time we’ve seen Singapore Airlines’ signature cabin products in unfamiliar settings — who can forget when Hi Fly operated an ex-SIA Airbus A380 — but it’ll still be surreal to see it in real life!

It’s clear that Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons have big plans for Air India, with ex-Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson now calling the shots and new First and Business Class seats (by JPA Design) coming in mid-2024. Who knows, this might be quite the turnaround story. 

Anyone planning to catch an Indiapore Airlines flight?