Air India Express ready to write next chapter; sunsets AirAsia IndiaRunway Girl

Recently merged with AirAsia India, and having sunset that particular brand this week, budget operator Air India Express is inviting passengers to ‘Fly As You Are’ aboard its growing fleet of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 narrowbodies.

A subsidiary of Air India, itself owned by Tata, Air India Express says the ‘Fly As you Are’ slogan is about enabling flyers to “personalise and take charge of their travel experience”. Passengers can pre-book a hot or cold meal from the Gourmair menu, access the AirFlix wireless entertainment and food & beverage platform on “select domestic flights”, and take advantage of loyalty benefits for members of the broader Tata NeuPass rewards program, it explains.

Even Air India Express’ social media team appears to have a fresh spring in its step, releasing a time lapse video of an AirAsia India-liveried A320neo being painted in Air India Express’ new branding and colours, complete with a special design inspired by Ajrakh and Bandhani textile art that “captures the heart and soul of our transformation”, the team’s Instagram account notes.

The carrier does, however, have much integration work ahead. So whilst passengers are being urged to fly as they are, Air India Express’ jets will effectively come as they are…for now.

Its current mixed fleet of A320s and 737s presently numbers 58 aircraft, including a handful of two-class Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that were originally destined for Chinese customers.

Air India Express’ new livery first broke cover on a MAX last month as part of a special ceremony. But the twinjets will need to be retrofitted in the budget operator’s all-economy class configuration. The winning seatmaker is expected to be announced soon. Could the seat covers draw inspiration from the colours of the livery scheme?

Air India Express Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on display with the carrier's new turquoise and tangerine livery.

Air India Express’ new livery, featuring turquoise, tangerine and ice blue, was unveiled last month on a new 737 MAX 8 twinjet. Image: Air India Express

A decision may also need to be taken on whether to offer the wireless IFE fleet-wide. Passengers make your voices heard!

For now, passengers booking select domestic flights are able to “order food, stream your favourite movies & shows, shop for your favourite products, book your cab and much more, right from your device”, says the airline. A QR code leading to the AirFlix portal is found in the seat pocket.

Air India Express has been allotted a total 50 MAXs from the 190-strong MAX order placed by parent Air India in February. All are expected to be inducted by early 2025.

Offering all-economy flights across India, as well as point-to-point services connecting key cities in India with destinations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Air India Express (AIX) is ready to climb to new heights.

In the meantime, Air India Express managing director Aloke Singh is bidding farewell to the AirAsia India brand, saying in a LinkedIn post: “Take a bow, all who worked hard to build the India franchise of this amazing brand, and represented what the brand stood for.

“A vibrant, new brand now takes its place, with ambitions of fulfilling the aspirations of a new India. As we enter a new phase of our integration and transformation journey, its a privilege to work alongside an extraordinarily talented set of people, across two organisations, achieving one milestone after another. To new beginnings!”