Air India's New Boeing 787-9 Faces FAA Hurdles; Limited Operations Begin Feb 1

• Air India's new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will operate with limitations due to pending FAA approvals for business class privacy doors and 18 economy seats.
• The aircraft, the first custom-made Dreamliner for Air India post-Tata takeover, begins commercial operations on the Mumbai-Frankfurt route from February 1.
• Business class privacy doors will remain open, and 18 economy seats will be blocked until regulatory certification is received.
• The airline spokesperson confirmed the limitations, stating that the seat product itself is certified, but a regulatory interpretation affects the 18 specific seats.
• Air India currently operates 33 Boeing 787s, with more wide-body aircraft, including Boeing 787-9s and A350-1000s, expected to join the fleet by 2026.

Why It Matters: Air India's new Boeing 787-9 will fly with temporary seat restrictions pending FAA certification.