Boeing set to deliver Air India’s first 787-9 Dreamliner
Salil Gupte, President of Boeing India and South Asia
| Photo Credit:
AKHILESH KUMAR
The induction of Air India’s first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft is expected to expand the airline’s wide-body capacity while addressing growing long-haul demand, said Salil Gupte, President of Boeing India and South Asia.
Speaking to businessline, Gupte said that the company is set to deliver the first Boeing 787-9 aircraft to Air India in the coming weeks.
Accordingly, he cited that the induction of the aircraft will expand Air India’s wide-body capability, improve efficiency and support airlines in meeting growing long-haul demand. Gupte added that the production process for the next Boeing 787-9 aircraft for Air India is already underway.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is a wide-body, twin-aisle aircraft designed for medium- to long-haul operations. It is part of the Boeing 787 family and offers a longer fuselage and higher passenger capacity (typically accommodating around 250 to 290 passengers in a three-class configuration) compared to the 787-8.
The aircraft is built using advanced composite materials, which contribute to lower structural weight and improved fuel efficiency. Besides, the 787-9 is powered by next-generation engines and is designed to operate on a wide range of long-haul routes.
It features an updated cabin architecture, including larger windows, improved air quality systems and higher cabin humidity levels compared with older wide-body aircraft. Its range (about 7,565 nautical miles) as well as payload capabilities allow airlines to deploy the aircraft on both high-density and long-range international sectors, depending on network requirements.
Air India has ordered 20 of these aircraft as part of its mega order of over 200 Boeing jets of different types placed in 2023.
Earlier, the airline had highlighted that in 2026 it plans to induct six new wide-body aircraft, comprising Boeing 787-9s and Airbus A350-1000s, alongside around 20 narrow-body aircraft. However, the fleet size will remain flat due to the return of older leased jets.
On the widening gap between capacity and demand in India’s aviation industry, Gupte said that aircraft availability is only one of several factors influencing capacity deployment.
Furthermore aircraft supply, infrastructure readiness, including airports and the availability of landing and parking slots, regulatory frameworks, global maintenance capacity — especially for engines — and pilot availability also play a role.
Additionally, these factors together determine how much capacity can be deployed in the market.
Boeing also underscored that it is not only continuing to manufacture advanced airplanes that serve airline and passenger objectives in safety, quality, efficiency, but also transforming the process by which they are built and supported, and leading how the aerospace industry continues to evolve in the future.
The aerospace giant has brought in systemic changes into production which have been implemented over the last 18 months.
These initiatives, Boeing said are committed to safety, quality, customer support, and to rebuilding trust, “one airplane at a time”.
The writer was in Charleston at the invitation of Boeing
Published on December 22, 2025
