New Delhi, April 14 -- Air India's VT-ANT landed in Delhi yesterday after spending nine months in California undergoing a retrofit. This is the first of 26 aircraft that will undergo refurbishment and a livery change before being reintroduced into commercial operations. The $400 million fleet retrofit programme has received a boost with the re-induction of the first aircraft.

This is also the first widebody aircraft in Air India's fleet to undergo a retrofit. Air India, which was privatised in 2022 and is now part of the Tata Group, with a 25.1% stake held by the Singapore Airlines Group, has been facing multiple challenges amid global supply chain disruptions and a legacy fleet that had not seen major interior upgrades for years. The ai...