Air India places big order to buy 250 aircraft from Airbus

NEW DELHI: With a view to expand its fleet size and operation, the Tata group will buy 250 aircraft from Airbus in one of the largest aviation deals. The deal includes 40 A350 wide-body long-range aircraft and 210 narrow-body aircraft.

Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran on Tuesday said Air India has signed a letter of intent to acquire 250 aircraft from Airbus. It will include 40 wide-body A350 planes and 210 narrow-body aircraft.

Talking about Air India, he said that "a lot of emotions are involved in this project".

"One billion people want Air India to be very successful," he said.

He said that Air India is going through a massive transformation plan in a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ratan Tata, French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders on Tuesday.

Earlier, on January 27, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson, in a communication to employees, had talked about the upcoming fleet expansion plan of the airline.

As per industry sources, this is nearly half of the total order of 495 jets which the airline has planned in the coming weeks to stay competitive in the aviation market.

Air India is likely to place another order in the coming weeks, which may include 190 Boeing 737 MAX planes, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777X planes.

After 69 years as a government-owned enterprise, Air India and Air India Express were welcomed back into the Tata group in January 2022.

The present management at Air India is driving the five-year transformation roadmap under the aegis of Vihaan.AI to establish itself as a world-class global airline with an Indian heart.

In November, 2022, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Tata Sons (Tata) agreed to merge Air India and Vistara, with SIA investing Rs 20,585 million (US$250 million) in Air India as part of the transaction.

With the integration, Air India became the only Indian airline group to operate both full-service and low-cost passenger services.

It can optimise its route network and resource utilisation, be flexible and agile in capturing demand across market segments, and tap on a larger consumer base to strengthen its loyalty programme.

This would reinforce its position as India's largest international carrier and second largest domestic carrier, allow it to offer more options and connectivity for business and leisure customers, and enable it to compete as a leading global airline.