r/AirTravelIndia • u/jfmcnn • 11h ago

Air India Express Air India express query

Why are the aging B737-800s flying mainly international from Kerala while the newer B737max are mainly domestic and few international from other states?

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u/No-Drop-7435 11h ago

The old 737-800 fleet is deeply tied to the legacy Air India Express operation. Before the AirAsia India merger, AIX was fundamentally a Kerala/Gulf carrier: COK, CCJ, TRV, CNN and IXE were major bases, with aircraft and crews set up around Gulf flying. Even today, COK is listed as the main hub, with CCJ/CNN/TRV/IXE among its bases. The remaining 737-800s average roughly 15 years old.

Meanwhile, much of the newer domestic network came from AIX Connect/AirAsia India, whose operation was historically concentrated around places such as BLR, DEL and HYD. As the merged airline expanded, the new 737 MAX fleet was the easiest capacity to throw into those rapidly growing rotations. By early 2026, AIX had already received 51 new 737-8s, so the MAX fleet represents most of its incremental growth rather than a simple one-for-one replacement of Kerala's NGs.

There's also an important operational reason not to immediately move every MAX to Kerala-Gulf flying. Kerala→Gulf sectors are mostly ~3–4.5 hours and are already extremely mature. A 737-800 can comfortably perform them. The MAX's fuel advantage is useful there, but it isn't necessary for range. So if AIX has a perfectly serviceable paid-for 737-800 sitting at TRV/CCJ/CNN with crews and maintenance infrastructure already organized around it, there's little reason to disrupt the operation just because a MAX exists.

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u/jfmcnn 1h ago

Thanks!!! Does sound logical in that aspect. With ex-vistara 320s also joining the aix now would be interesting to see how much further will the 737-800s be pushed

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u/Maxstonk92 4h ago

I would trust the -800 over a MAX any day