Air India expects to induct at least 20 widebody aircraft into long-haul operations this year, CEO Campbell Wilson said Tuesday — phrasing he acknowledged was designed to hint at additional Boeing 787 orders.

Wilson made the comments aboard a special chartered Delhi–Hyderabad flight showcasing the airline’s first custom-built Boeing 787-9 since privatization.

“I say ‘at least’ to drop a hint for something that might be coming,” he said in an onboard message.

The new 787-9 will enter commercial service on February 1 on the Mumbai-Frankfurt route, with progressive deployment planned across Air India’s European network, as well as routes to Australia and East Asia.

Wilson said the airline chose the Mumbai-Frankfurt route for its strong mix of business, leisure, and connecting traffic, and as part of a broader effort to rebalance growth beyond Delhi.

“Most of our expansion in the last couple of years has b