Tata Group-promoted hybrid carrier Air India Express (AIX) has plans to expand with a larger fleet, more routes, and new destinations.
“In terms of the airline’s turnaround plan ‘V1Rise,’ the plan for FY26 is to scale our domestic network, add more aircraft, increase daily flight frequencies, and provide hassle-free and personalised travel options,” airline sources told businessline.
Notably, the airline is guided by a five-year-long transformation programme, V1Rise, which forms a key part of the ambitious Vihaan initiative of its parent company, Air India.
businessline was the first to report about the existence of such a programme.
After completing its merger with AIX Connect (formerly known as AirAsia India), Air India Express is currently in the second phase (named Scale) of this transformation programme.
When contacted, the airline did not elicit a reply.
Expansion plans
Industry insiders cited that the airline’s expansion plans are evident from its slot allocations in the ‘summer schedule 2025’ (SS25), effective from March 30 to October 25, 2025.
As per ‘SS25,’ Air India Express will operate 3,375 flights per week, up 38.49 per cent on a y-o-y basis.
The exponential rise in the airline’s presence, sources said, was made possible through the high rate of aircraft induction.
Notably, the airline has become the third largest carrier in terms of fleet size with over 100 aircraft, adding more than 30 brand new aircraft in the last 12 months.
According to sources, the airline plans to add more aircraft in FY26, eventually reaching over 110 by the first quarter of the next financial year.
“Compared to three years ago, the airline is fast gaining fleet size, which is fueling the expansion drive. Three years back it only had 26 aircraft during government ownership, and now it is over 100,” sources said.
Sources credited the fast-paced aircraft induction on a unique programme followed by the airline.
“All the required aircraft checks are conducted before bringing them to India. They (aircraft) are then painted in India.”
Besides aircraft, the airline also plans to expand its daily flight frequencies to over 500 per day from 480 in the next few months.
The increase in flight frequencies, sources said, will cater to the demand from tier-II and tier-III cities, in the process, feeding Air India’s long-haul flights.
Presently, Air India Express has a codeshare with Air India, allowing passengers a much wider network and options to fly on a single itinerary on routes like Ranchi to San Francisco or Ahmedabad to Abu Dhabi.
“AIX has increased its network footprint and started many new routes and commenced operations from nine new airports in the past ten months, including Agartala, Dimapur, Hindon, Port Blair, Jammu, and Bangkok, amongst others,” sources said.
