Air India has decided to sell five of its Boeing 777-200LR aircraft and replace 19 aging Airbus A320s with new leased airplanes. The widebodies were procured for ultra-long-range, non-stop operations between India and the U.S. But, due to the steep increase in fuel prices, some of Air India’s ultra-long routes—such as Bengaluru to San Francisco—never began service. “It was found that the yield from non-stop routes of Boeing 777-200LR was poor,” says junior Civil Aviation Minister K C Venugopal.

Air India expects to resume commercial operation of its six Boeing 787-8s in June. Late on May 7, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation lifted a grounding order on the type after a joint team of Air India and Boeing officials briefed the regulator on the successful installation of a new battery system on one of the aircraft, a Civil Aviation Ministry spokesman says. Technical experts from Boeing also are making the necessary modifications to the remaining 787 aircraft, the spokesman adds.

India plans to invest over $12 billion by 2017 to improve airport infrastructure and support the country’s rapidly expanding air transport network. “The Indian government has envisaged investment of $12.1 billion in the airports sector during the 12th Plan period [2012-2017], of which $9.3 billion is expected to come from the private sector for construction of new airports, expansion and modernization,” says Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh.