It is reported that the new A321-Neo was among three such aircraft which had been manufacturted originally for Russian airlines but delivery was held up because of the Western sanctions on Moscow in view of its invasion of Ukraine. The other two are also expected to join Air India soon.

NEW DELHI, March 29: Air India has received its first A321neo. It flew in to the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi from Hamburg on Saturday. The new arrival has CFM LEAP 1A engines.

This forms the first aircraft of a mega order Air India had placed with Airbus and Boeing last month.

The aircraft is registered as VT-RTD. It flew non-stop 7 hours and 55 minutes from Hamburg.

"We're thrilled to welcome our Airbus A321 Neo (VT-RTD). We look forward to welcoming you onboard!," Air India tweeted.

"This is the 1st A321neo (fitted with CFM LEAP 1A engines) type of aircraft to be inducted by AI," it said.

The narrow body Airbus will fly on the domestic routes.

The A321 Neo (VT-RTD) is one of three A321neos joining the fleet soon. The other two will be registered VT-RTB and VT-RTC. It is reported that these three were meant for Russian airlines but because of the Western sanctions on Russia in view of its invasion of Ukraine, the delivery was held up.

Tata Group-owned Air India has inducted its first Airbus A321neo. The aircraft registered as VT-RTD took off from Hamburg, Germany on Saturday for IGIA, New Delhi. (The French Airbus manufacturer's final assembly of the A320s aircraft takes place in the Hamburg unit in Germany.) This is for the first time that Air India has received delivery of a single-aisle airliner after its acquisition by Tata Group.

"All set to welcome the newest entrant to our AI Family- Airbus A321 Neo (VT-RTD). It’s taken off from Hamburg & we can’t wait to see her land here! This is the 1st A321 Neo (fitted with CFM LEAP 1A Engines) type of aircraft to be inducted by AI," the carrier had tweeted.

A321neo has a seating capacity of 180 to 220 passengers in a two-class layout, and 244 in a higher-density arrangement while A320neo seats 140 to 180 passengers.

Air India is acquiring 250 Airbus aircraft. In mega orders placed last month with Boeing and Airbus manufacturers, Air India is buying 470 planes worth over $80 billion. Of these, 250 planes will be Airbus that includes 140 A320neo and 70 A321neo single-aisle aircraft as well as 34 A350-1000 and six A350-900 wide-body jets while 220 planes will come from Boeing, 190 of them 737 Max, 20 Dreamliner 787-9s and 10 777s. Airbus 350 and Boeing 777-9 are widebody for long haul.

The deal has an option to buy 370 more planes from the aviation majors in the next decade. Air India's current fleet has over 100 planes comprising of Airbus A319, A320, A320 neo, A321 as well as Boeing 777 and Boeing 787.

WHAT TO DO, WHEN... : IndiaTravelTimes does not guarantee the authenticity of the video (above) of the episode of the flight turbulence at Durgapur airport on May 1, yet this is being put out with a view to familiarising the ordinary fliers with such probabilities lest they are caught unawares and fail to react rationally to handle such terrible situations. The 'eternity' can last up to 15 minutes. Tighten your belts, believe in your pilot and shift your thoughts to reduce disabling anxieties! Rest assured, the aircraft can rock and fall but not more than a hundred feet anyway.

Whole localities are sent into quarantine in China using force if someone is symptomatic of covid. The quarantines are metal boxes set up in far away camps. The authoritarian regime is resorting to draconian methods to check a new wave of the epidemic in the country that has already locked down three cities currently. On the other hand, the US presents a contrasting scenario where in the name freedom large sections of people refuse vaccination and assault health workers who mandate the covid restrictions.

Marking a fierce but interesting competition among the billionaires, adventure specialist Richard Branson launched commercial space travel from his 'Spaceport America' on Sunday, pipping the world's richest man, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, to the post, becoming the early bird to fly to the edge of space as the first private space tourist nine days earlier than his rival. Although he did not cross the Karman line.

The Mars rover, a six-wheeled, SUV-sized robotic vehicle, sailed through space for seven months to land on a prime spot for geo-biological study of the red planet for signs of ancient extraterrestrial life. It takes radio waves 11 minutes to reach Earth. (Listen to:- DAVID BOWIE: Life On Mars?:)

After his reappearance, Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares went up by 8.5%. The Chinese billionaire made his public appearance on Wednesday. (SEE Video: Davos 2015 - An Insight An Idea with Jack Ma - A conversation with Jack Ma, Founder and the then Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group, on leadership, entrepreneurship and the future of commerce: Interviewed by Charlie Rose, Anchor, CBS News, USA)