Air India Upgrades Every Heathrow Flight From Jan: Book on Points

Updated as of 24 Oct 2026. From Air India’s 17 Oct 2026 announcement on UK operations. Award prices from Aeroplan’s and Maharaja Club’s 2026 charts and our own searches; taxes vary by date.

From January 2027, every Air India flight to and from London Heathrow will have new or upgraded cabins. That ends the lottery of booking points on an old Air India plane to London. Here’s what changes on each route, and the cheapest way to book it with points.

What flies where from January

Route	Aircraft	What changes
Delhi – Heathrow	A350-900 and 787-9	Already new cabins; business, premium economy and economy
Mumbai – Heathrow	New 787-9 and refurbished 787-8	New or refurbished cabins on every flight
Bengaluru – Heathrow (daily)	Refurbished 787-8	The last route to switch. New seats and entertainment, and premium economy is added, so it goes from two cabins to three
Ahmedabad – Gatwick (4 a week)	777-300ER (was 787-8)	About 2,700 more seats a month each way
Amritsar – Birmingham (3 a week)	777-300ER (was 787-8)	About 2,000 more seats a month each way. Check first: Aviation Week (14 Oct) reported this route may pause for winter 2026–27

Booking London on points

Programme	Economy, one way	Business, one way	Notes
Air Canada Aeroplan	–	70,000	Plus taxes and a CA$39 booking fee. No fuel surcharge on the Air India flights we’ve checked
Air India Maharaja Club	35,000	About 1,00,000	Lowest “Value” prices; they open up to 30 days before departure
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	About 35,000	–	Plus about ₹8,000 in taxes in our Chennai search

Why points look better now: since 9 Oct, Air India adds a fuel surcharge of US$135 (about ₹13,000) each way on cash tickets to Europe and the UK. Aeroplan doesn’t add it on Air India flights, so a business award saves you that on top of the fare.

• Points from Axis: Magnus for Burgundy moves 5:4 to Aeroplan and Air India; Atlas moves 1:2 to both (Group A caps apply).
• Points from HDFC: Infinia and Diners Black move 2:1 to Aeroplan and Air India, and 1:1 to KrisFlyer.
• Bengaluru flyers: premium economy is new on your route. Price it in cash and on Maharaja Club before you settle for economy.

Air India is also moving business class to course-by-course dining on its UK flights (see our Quick Hits). Compare every programme that books Air India on our Airline Partner Map, and see which cards transfer on our Air India transfer partners page.

What to do

You are…	What to do
Flying to London from January, in business	✅ Any Heathrow flight now has the newer product. Book on Aeroplan at 70,000
Flying from Bengaluru	✅ Wait for January if you can; the daily flight gets refurbished seats and premium economy
Flying to Gatwick or Birmingham	⚠️ More seats, so better award chances, but check the cabin on the seat map
Paying cash	⚠️ Remember the ₹13,000 fuel surcharge each way; points look even better

DealUni take: from January, London is the easiest Air India long-haul to book on points without worrying about an old plane. Aeroplan at 70,000 in business is the one to beat. Naya plane, purana chart; points ka sahi waqt. (A new plane, the old chart; the right time for points.)

Sources: Eastern Eye on Air India’s UK update (17 Oct 2026); Air India: Maharaja Club enhancements; Air Canada: Aeroplan flight reward chart update. Checked 24 Oct 2026.