Air India has option to buy 370 additional planes after placing order for 470 planes
NEW DELHI, FEB. 16: Air India’s deal with two of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers — Airbus SA and Boeing C — can be for 840 planes. Of the total, the Tata Group-run airline has placed an order for 470 planes and the remaining 370 are options, said Nipun Aggarwal, the airline’s chief commercial and transformation officer (CCTO), late Wednesday night.
“The order comprises 470 firm aircraft, 370 options and purchase rights to be procured from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade. The Airbus firm order comprises 210 A320/321Neo/XLR and 40 A350-900/1000. The Boeing firm order comprises 190 B737Max, 20 B787s and 10 B777s. We have also signed up for long-term maintenance of the engines with CFM International, Rolls-Royce and GE Aerospace,” Aggarwal wrote on LinkedIn.
Air India on Tuesday placed an order for 250 planes with Europe’s Airbus and 220 planes with US’ Boeing. This was the largest deal for planes ever made in commercial aviation history.
Aggarwal said in the post: “It is indeed a landmark moment in the history of Air India and Indian aviation. This order of 840 aircraft has been a culmination of a fascinating journey that began almost two years ago starting with the Air India privatisation process.”
He also added, “This order demonstrates the vision and aspiration of the Tata Group to transform Air India into a world-class airline and connect India “non-stop” to every major city in the world. This order is also a testament to the tremendous economic potential unleashed by the Air India privatisation.”
While the Tata Group is yet to disclose the total deal value, it is estimated that they are shelling out about $80 billion to acquire the 470 planes.
Air India’s Boeing deal for 220 planes is valued at $34 billion. The Air India order is Boeing’s third-biggest sale ever in dollar value and second in terms of the number of planes.
The first aircraft to arrive will be 25 brand-new Boeing B737-800s and 6 Airbus A350-900s in the second half of 2023, with deliveries ramping up in 2025 and beyond.
Tata Sons and Air India Chairman, N Chandrasekaran, had said that these new aircraft will modernise the Airline’s fleet and onboard products, and dramatically expand its global network. He added that Air India is not yet another project but is akin to a “national” project and that the Tata Group is also eyeing bringing commercial aircraft manufacturing to India at some point.
This was also the first time in over 17 years that Air India, which was acquired from the Central Government by the Tata Group in January 2022, has ordered planes.
Following the takeover, Tata Group has set a target to achieve a 30% share in the domestic as well as international (to and from India) market in the next five years under its comprehensive transformation plan titled “Vihaan.AI”.
Air India’s deal with Boeing and Airbus was welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, France President Emmanuel Macron, US President Joseph R. Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
-TNIE
