One of the top 2024 aviation news stories will be Air India’s rebrand. Air India is the national airline of India. Its first flight was on October 15, 1932. The airline has taken on a complete rebrand that started in 2023. The airline is trying to change its bad reputation of lack luster service and planes that are not well-maintained. The rebrand includes a new logo, new Airbus A350 planes (Check out my Airbus A350 review.) and new crew uniforms. Let’s start with the uniforms.

New Uniforms

The crew uniforms were designed by Manish Malhotra, an Indian celebrity designer. I like that the uniform collection blends traditional culture with modern design.

The female cabin crew uniform is a ready-to-wear saree in an ombre pattern. It’s designed to reflect traditional Indian architecture called “jharokha”. It’s paired with a blouse and blazer. These sarees can also be worn with pants, allowing more flexibility.

The pilot’s uniform is a black double-breasted suit with a print inspired by the Vista, Air India’s new logo.

Manisha Malhorta not only designed the cabin crew and pilots uniforms. He also designed uniforms for ground staff, engineers and security staff.

New Cabins

There will be First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy cabins.

First Class

Many airlines are getting rid of First Class. However, Air India will offer First Class as part of their rebrand.  These seats are in a beautiful color pallet. Each seat turns into a fully flat bed. There is also a door for complete privacy.

Business Class

These seats are a big upgrade from the current Air India Business Class. This is one of the main reasons that this story is continuing to make 2024 aviation news.

The current Air India business seats do not offer aisle access to every seat. There are some rows that have a middle seat. Imagine paying for a Business Class seat and having to squeeze in between two other passengers.

Like the First Class seats, there are fully flat beds and privacy doors.

Premium Economy

The Premium Economy seats look very similar to the regular Economy seats, but there are less seats in the cabin. They are in a 2-4-2 configuration. The seats are deeper in color than the first and business class seats.

Economy

The seats in Economy are in a 3-4-3 seating configuration. I have no details on the seating pitch, etc.

This new cabin will be featured on Air India’s new Airbus A350 planes. The first of these arrived in New Delhi in December 2023. It is the first of 20 ordered.

We will see if these new changes, and more to come, help Air India improve its reputation in the aviation industry. 

All images courtesy of Air India.