Air India sells its remaining Boeing 747-400 jumbo jetliners

Air India has sold four of its remaining Boeing 747-400 jumbo jetliners bidding an adieu to an era that had once paved way for the airline to the global league. As per The Economic Times, the four aircraft have been sold to US company AerSale, a supplier of aftermarket commercial jet engines and parts.

Air India sells aircraft

Out of the four, two aircraft will be converted to freighters and the other two will be dissembled for their parts. Aircraft manufacturers prefer used aircraft parts as most still have plenty of remaining operational life but are much cheaper than new parts, resulting in cost savings for operators.

The transfer of the planes to AerSale will be managed by a Mumbai-based company Vman Aviation Services.

As per The Economic Times, Air India's new owner, Tata Group had no intention to use the 747s finding them uneconomical to operate in current conditions. Tata Group after acquiring Air India had mandated UK-based remarketing firm Skytech-AIC to sell the four planes. The airline last flew the 747 flight between Delhi and Mumbai in March 2021.

Boeing 747

Air India purchased the first Boeing 747 on March 22, 1971 entering the service in May that year. Back then, the airline operated four weekly flights from India to London. The flight had 423 seats in a triple-class configuration.

Until 2020, when the Indian Air Force acquired two Boeing 777s, Air India's aircraft was also used to ferry the prime minister, president and vice-president.

As per The Economic Times, the airline had back then debuted a new look in its aircraft exterior: silver and white with red details and windows described as Rajasthani style arches, intended to give the effect of a row of 'Jharokha' type balconies reminiscent of the Hawa Mahal at Jaipur. The branding also said, "Your Palace in the Sky".

JRD Tata who was the chairman of Air India when buying the aircraft had said that acquiring the aircraft had become necessary as its competitors were offering a product which was superior.

"One is that we cannot remain a competitive carrier unless we ensure that no other airline in the world offers better equipment or better service to our passengers than we do. The other is that for the first time the industry has...an aircraft large enough to cater to a mass tourist market. With the expected rapid growth of the flow of tourists to India in the years to come, Air India must be equipped to carry its proper share of the traffic," JRD had said after receiving the first 747.

The Economic Times quoted two pilots who flew the flight and said that Boeing 747 was a real pilot aircraft with smooth handling, reliability and a grandiose look.

"It is a very sturdy aircraft. With four engines, a very high redundancy has been built into it where even if you lose one engine, it would be safe to fly," Gautam Mehta, the first Pilot to fly the plane told The Economic Times.

Another pilot told the publication that 747 will always remain special, despite the arrival of next generation planes with fly-by-wire technology where the pilot's workload has reduced significantly.

"Once we had landed at Nagpur with the 747 and the entire airport was outside looking at the magnificent machine. We requested for 90 tonnes of fuel and the airport scattered to organise that because they didn't need that much fuel in a single day," he told The Economic Times