Fleet Details

Intrduction:
Air India operates a family of Air Bus A320 for all its domestic routes and a
Boeing 787 Dreamliner for some specific routes (domestic).
As our hanger was located near the doemstic terminal we happened to
witness a range of Airbus aircrafts. The following comprises of a gist about
different aircraft configurations and their significance during flight
operations.

AIRBUS A319:

Air India owns 22 of this twin engine 144 seater aircraft as of now and uses
for short haul purposes. They are narrow body aircrafts with a retractable
tricycle landing gear and are powered by two wing pylon-mounted turbofan
engines. The overall wingspan is 34.1m and the overall lenght accounting to
33.84 meters, allowing a cabin width of 3.7 meters. Generally Air India uses
CFM56-5B6/P model engines for its A319 producing an average cruise
speed of 837 km/hr. It also comes with an onboard wheel chair facility and
movable aisle armset.
The following is the list of 22 flights under operation by Air India:

VT-SCA

VT-SCB

VT-SCC

VT-SCF

VT-SCG

VT-SCH

VT-SCI

VT-SCJ

VT-SCK

VT-SCL

VT-SCM

VT-SCN

VT-SCO

VT-SCP

VT-SCQ

VT-SCR

VT-SCS

VT-SCT

VT-SCU

VT-SCV

VT-SCW

VT-SCX

AIRBUS A320:

Air India owns 25 A320 (A320-231 and A320-214) flights with the number

of seats varying from 140-168. Although the some features of A320 are
similar to that of A319 the overall take of weight is 73.5 tonnes and the
overall lenght accounts to 37.57 meters.The A320s advanced technology
includes the extensive use of weight-saving composites, an optimised wing
that is 20 per cent more efficient than previous designs, a centralised fault
display for easier troubleshooting and lower maintenance costs, along with
Airbus fly-by-wire flight controls.
The following is the list of 25 flights under operation by Air India:

VT-EDC

VT-EDD

VT-EDE

VT-EDF

VT-EPB

VT-EPC

VT-EPF

VT-EPG

VT-EPH

VT-EPI

VT-EPJ

VT-ESB

VT-ESC

VT-ESD

VT-ESE

VT-ESF

VT-ESG

VT-ESI

VT-ESJ

VT-ESL

VT-EXA

VT-EXB

VT-EXC

VT-EXD

VT-EXE

AIRBUS A321:

The A321 is a larger aircraft when compared to the other two types and can
seat upto 172 passengers. With increased fuel capacity and overall take off
weight acccounting to 89 tons the aircraft is powered by two CFM56 - 5V3 /
P type engines.
The following is the list of 20 flights under operation by Air India:

VT-PPA

VT-PPB

VT-PPD

VT-PPE

VT-PPF

VT-PPG

VT-PPH

VT-PPI

VT-PPJ

VT-PPK

VT-PPL

VT-PPM

VT-PPN

VT-PPO

VT-PPQ

VT-PPT

VT-PPU

VT-PPV

VT-PPW

VT-PPX

Special Features of A320 family:

Cockpit standardisation:
In addition, fly-by-wire and cockpit standardization across the A320 Family
are at the heart of Airbus commonality, which allows a pilot qualified on
one Family member to fly them all, using the same type rating. Over 80 per
cent of operators with 10 or more A320 Family jetliners in their fleets fly
more than one model of the Airbus single-aisle product line enabling them
to benefit fully from the commonality concept through more effective
scheduling of aircraft and crews.
Taking the Airbus commonality one step further, an A320-rated pilot can
transition to any other Airbus jetliner with reduced training (known as
Cross-crew Qualification), and is able to operate another Airbus aircraft
type while still actively flying the A320 Family (a capability called Mixed
Fleet Flying).

Improved Navigation Technology:

Advanced navigation technology contributes to the A320s operational
versatility. This includes the Required Navigation Performance (RNP)
capability, which reduces approach distances for landing while reducing fuel
consumption and CO2 emissions; and the Global Position (GPS) landing
system, allowing instrument-type approaches where ground stations are not
available.
Also offered are the Microwave Landing System (MLS) for increased
approach capability in low visibility conditions; and the Future Air
Navigation System (FANS) for optimised flight path and reduced aircraft
spacing.