Aircrafts you didn't realize were operated by Indian airlines!

In the ever-changing landscape of Indian aviation, there has always been a need of airplanes. Despite airlines placing hundreds of aircrafts on order, it often so happens, due to one reason or the other, that there are production delays. What do airlines resort to do, lease aircrafts and sometimes, there are sub-fleets of aircrafts in an airline which many people did not know even know about. So today, let us discuss some interesting aircrafts that are/were operated by Indian airlines over the years.

1. Air India and the Ilyushin IL-62
   

Source- Flickr.com

It's always a Suprise for me as an avgeek to see western airlines operating soviet aircrafts and in this prestigious list, Air India is one of the prestigious airlines to have operated soviet jets, in this case the IL-62. It is still unknown how many and when the airline operated the IL-62 but through sources, it was used somewhere between 1989 and 1993. The airline leased the aircraft from Aeroflot and operated services to Moscow and Tashkent from Mumbai and Delhi.

2. Jet Airways and the A340-300

Source- Airliners.net

Before the 777s and the A330s, Jet Airways operated the A340-300 which was the airlines first widebody. Jet airways operated 3 A340-300 leased from South African Airways between 2005 and 2007 until it received its newer widebodies. The A340s operated flights to London Heathrow from Mumbai and Delhi for the airline.

3. Sahara airlines and the 767-300ER

Source- Airliners.net

Sahara airlines or Air Sahara later on was an Indian airline which begin operations in the mid 1990s post the liberalization of the Indian Aviation Sector. As the name suggest, the airline was founded by the infamous Sahara group. Most AvGeeks remember the airline operating a fleet of 737s and CRJ-200s however, many might not remember the airline operating a sole 767. VT-SDL was an ex-United 767 which operated for Air Sahara on the Delhi to London route from 2005 to 2007 when it was bought out by Jet Airways.

4. Air India and the L-1011 Tristar

Source- JetPhotos.net

Air India, known to have a 747/A310 centric fleet back in the day, operated the L-1011 for a short while in the mid-1990s. Fun fact, the airline was considering ordering the trijet however later on went with the A300/A310. The airline leased 2 (A 3rd one was leased only for a month) L-1011 between 1995 and 1996 and operated flights to mainly European destinations like Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

5. SpiceJet and the A340-300

Source- Planespotter.net

During the COVID-19 pandemic, due to a high cargo demand, many airlines leased cargo aircraft in order to transport goods and essential items. One of those airlines was SpiceJet who leased a A340-300 for Cargo ops under its subsidiary Spice Xpress.

6. Air India and the 767-300ER

Source- AirHistory.net

Facing an aircraft shortage, Air India leased 3 767s between 2006 and 2008 operating on the London Heathrow and the Dubai route.

Do you know more such unknown aircraft and airline combination, let me know below in the comment section below for a possible part 2! Till then here is AvGeek Parikh signing off.