Air India tragedy: What we know about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed

[Editor's Note: Follow KT's live blog for all the latest updates on the Ahmedabad plane crash.]

As of June 2025, Air India operates 34 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. It was one of these that crashed near Ahmedabad Airport, India, on Thursday, killing 290 people at the time of reporting. Carrying 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian, the London-bound Air India flight turned fatal on the afternoon of June 12, soon after taking off from the Indian city of Ahmedabad.

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The aviation disaster is being billed as the world's worst in a decade. Importantly, according to aviation analytics source Cirium, the Tata-backed carrier has already placed an order for 20 additional Boeing 787 and a letter of intent for options of an additional 24 aircraft. The Indian airline's website switched to colours of black and white after the disaster.

Data from Cirium revealed that the aircraft's first flight was December 14, 2013 and it was delivered to Air India on January 28, 2014. Manufactured in Seattle, USA, the aircraft which crashed on Thursday was 11.5 years old. There are 1,148 Boeing 787 variants in service globally, with an average age of 7.5 years old.

The Air India flight that crashed had 18 business class seats and 238 economy class seats. It had more than 41,000 hours of flying time, and almost 8,000 takeoffs and landings, including some 700 cycles in the past 12 months. In total, Air India has 190 aircraft, with an average age of 8.4 years old.

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In less than 14 years, according to Boeing, the 787 Dreamliner fleet has carried more than one billion passengers, more than any other widebody jet in aviation history.

A lighter and more robust composite structure enables airlines to reduce fuel use by up to 25 per cent compared to the airplanes it replaces. The 787 operates to more than 425 new nonstop routes around the world, many of which were never served previously.

In the Middle East, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is operated by EgyptAir, Gulf Air, Qatar Airways, EL AL, Iraqi Airways, Royals Jordanian, Etihad Airways, Oman Air and Saudia.

Waheed Abbas

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.