The plane, a smooth 11.5-year-old marvel inbuilt Seattle, had first taken to the skies in December 2013 and joined Air India’s fleet in January 2014.
Its historical past was typical for a aircraft of its age: over 41,000 flying hours, practically 8,000 takeoffs and landings, and about 700 cycles prior to now 12 months, confirmed knowledge shared by Cirium, an aviation knowledge agency, with NDTV Revenue.
Considered one of 1,148 Boeing 787s globally, it was a part of a fleet averaging simply 7.5 years in age, representing the leading edge of economic aviation.
Air India, with 34 of those Dreamliners in service and 20 extra on order, was racing to modernise its fleet — 190 plane robust, averaging simply over eight years outdated. However beneath the veneer of progress lurked the query: was upkeep preserving tempo?
The plane’s in depth use, with a mean of practically 700 cycles yearly, hinted on the relentless grind of operational calls for.
