Air India on Monday announced that it is launching the Airbus A350“s commercial service, which is its new aircraft and India”s first, on January 22.

The airline also announced that bookings for this new service have started, and passengers can book their tickets through the Air India website, booking offices, call centers, and authorized travel agents.

Initially, the aircraft is deployed on domestic routes such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai for crew familiarization and regulatory compliance purposes.

Bookings open for our Airbus A350 operations in the domestic sector.

The brand-new aircraft, which is India’s first, will start commercial service from 22nd January 2024.

This is our way of celebrating the New Year with all of you, who just can’t wait to fly the new… pic.twitter.com/y0YebLee5v

— Air India (@airindia) January 1, 2024

“Ushering in the most visible manifestation of Air India”s epic transformation journey, the A350 aircraft will be later deployed for longer-haul flights to destinations across continents,” the airline said in a statement.

The Tata Group-owned Air India welcomed India’s first ever Airbus A350 to its fleet on December 23, 2023.

The Airbus A350-900 gets a three-class cabin configuration encompassing 316 seats designed by Collins Aerospace, which include 28 private business class suites, 24 premium economy seats, and 264 economy class seats. All seats will have the latest-generation Panasonic eX3 in-flight entertainment system and HD screens, the company said.

Air India has ordered 20 Airbus A350-900, of which five or more will be available for deliveries through March 2024. Air India is planning to induct a total of six A350 planes in the first phase. The company has also ordered 20 A350-1000s.