Air India Deploys Dreamliner On Frankfurt Route

Air India has today begun using its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner on flights between Delhi and Frankfurt – its second international destination served with the aircraft after Dubai.

From October 15, the booking engine on Air India’s website shows the flight pairing AI120/121 between Delhi and Frankfurt to use a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The aircraft, which has 256 seats, provides a slight increase in capacity, replacing the B777-200LR with 238 seats previously used on the route.

Frankfurt may have been chosen as the first international destination for the aircraft because of the sizeable and growing amount of Indian business investment there. The State Bank of India has had a base in Frankfurt since 1974, while numerous other Indian corporations have also established offices in the city and the surrounding region.

Air India took delivery of its first Dreamliner on September 8 and has since received two more. It expects to take delivery of the fourth on October 20 and another by the end of this year, followed by seven more in 2013, five in 2014, six in 2015 and three in 2016. In total, Air India has ordered 27 of the aircraft. According to the airline, the Dreamliners it has already received are fitted with 256 seats which include 18 fully flat business class seats and 238 economy class seats.

The airline has been initially deploying the aircraft on domestic routes, between Delhi and Chennai, and Delhi and Bangalore.

Following Frankfurt, the airline has suggested that it may deploy its other Dreamliners on more European routes and for flights to Japan.

Tags: 787, Air, Boeing, DEL, Delhi-Frankfurt, Dreamliner, FRA, India