The airline Air India took delivery of the first Airbus A321neo at the end of last week. The machine has already been transferred from Hamburg (Finkenwerder) to Delhi, but has not yet been put into active scheduled service.

Only recently, the Indian carrier caused bulk orders that were made at Airbus and Boeing, cause a stir. The new majority owner Tata Sons wants to renew the fleet, which is considered to be showing its age, as quickly as possible. A strong increase in demand can be seen on the subcontinent for the next few years.

The first Airbus A321neo was finally assembled in Hamburg and officially taken over by Air India on March 25, 2023. The medium-haul jet bears the Indian registration VT-RTD and is to be put into scheduled service shortly. It is the first of initially eight aircraft of this type that will be purchased through a lessor. As part of a large order placed directly with the European aircraft manufacturer, 70 Airbus A321neo are included.