Air India weaves new branding palette into A350-900 interiors

Arriving like a beautiful gift before Christmas, the first of 20 Airbus A350-900 twinjets for Air India touched down in New Delhi on 23 December, and will be pressed into service by the Tata-owned airline in January 2024.

Registered VT-JRA, the three-class A350 — decked out in Air India’s new livery — will initially operate domestic flights, as crew members become familiar with the aircraft type. Thereafter, the much-anticipated widebody will support longer-haul flying “to destinations across continents”, says the carrier.

Air India serves the US, UK, Canada, Europe, Far East, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Gulf, and will release the A350’s schedule in the coming weeks.

Inside and out, the twin-aisle aircraft features beautifully rich colors from Air India’s new branding palette, including deep red and aubergine. These hues are complemented by the cabin crew’s new Manish Malhotra-designed uniforms, with sarees, blazers, blouses and pant options exuding modern sophistication.

Male and emale Air India crew members are standing in front of the new A350 in their new uniforms.

Air India describes its new livery as “bold” and indeed it is. Image: Air India

Whilst the 316-seat aircraft is brand new, it was originally destined for Aeroflot, and thus the seats were originally styled in the Russian carrier’s choice of colors of burnt orange and blue. But, as promised, Air India has implemented a soft upgrade of the A350’s interior to better reflect its new brand identity.

Under the light refurb, Air India retained the nose-to-tail Collins Aerospace-made seating platforms and Panasonic Avionics eX3 inflight entertainment system on board but tweaked the colors and materials across classes.

Premium economy class on the A350 is mostly grey with red details

Premium economy on the Air India A350 looks smart. Every passenger on board will have access to a HD inflight entertainment screen. Image: Air India

Air India has clearly drawn on its new branding palette, both in the 24-seat premium economy cabin and the 264-seat economy class cabin.

Air India A350 Economy class seats in red with grey headrests.

Economy class really pops with deep red seat covers accented by grey headrests. Image: Air India

Changes to the 28-seat business class cabin appear to be a little more subtle; light Aubergine headrest cushions tie in with Air India’s color scheme. The lie-flat suites are based on Collins’ Horizon platform.

The A350 business class suit is grey with blue seats and a brown headrest.

Air India will be able to use the A350’s Airspace LED ambient lighting to add further depth to the cabin colors and create a mood reflective of its brand. Image: Air India

Arriving from the Airbus facility in Toulouse, the A350 delivery marks a number of firsts. “Air India leads the way in catalysing the renaissance of Indian aviation, inducting the first new widebody fleet type in India in more than a decade, and thus, becoming the first Indian airline to fly the A350,” says the carrier.

Five more A350-900s — which were also originally earmarked for Aeroflot — will be similarly transformed for Air India’s operations, and are scheduled to be delivered through March 2024. We await word from Air India on its interiors plans for the remaining 14 A350-900s on order with Airbus. Air India has also ordered 20 A350-1000 twinjets.

Celebrating the first A350 delivery, Air India CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson said in a statement: “This moment marks a red-letter day for all of us at Air India. The A350 is not just metal and engines; it’s the flying embodiment of the relentless efforts of all Air India employees towards our airline’s continuing transformation and of our commitment to setting new benchmarks. It is also, in many ways, a declaration of Indian aviation’s resurgence on the world stage.”

He continued, “As a symbol of the new age of flying, the A350 promises a world-class, long-haul travel experience on our nonstop routes, providing an unparallelled level of comfort. Its excellent flight economics and state- of-the-art technology underscore our dedication to commercially successful operations and to achieving our sustainability goals.”