Air India (AI) on Tuesday said it has placed a bumper order of 470 planes, the largest deal in global aviation topping the one of American Airlines which bought 460 aircraft a decade ago. The total deal value is estimated to be $80 billion (around Rs 6.40 lakh crore), according to PTI.
The Tata-owned airline ordered 70 wide body aircraft: 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777-9s. It has ordered 400 single-aisle aircraft: 210 Airbus A320/321 Neos and 190 Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle aircraft, Air India said in a statement. PTI citing the White House said the Boeing deal was worth $34 billion to Air India. The wide-body A350 aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce engines and the B777/787s by engines from GE Aerospace.
Rolls-Royce on Tuesday said it has received an order from Air India for 68 Trent XWB-97 engines and there is also the option to supply 20 more such engines. The single-aisle aircraft will be powered by engines from CFM International. The first of the new aircraft will enter service in late-2023, with the bulk to come from mid-2025 onwards.
Airbus on Tuesday said it will deliver the first A350 aircraft to Air India by the end of the year. In the interim, AI has started taking delivery of 11 leased B777 and 25 A320 aircraft. The new aircraft will come with an entirely new cabin interior, in tune with Air India’s previously announced plan to refit its existing widebody B787 and B777 aircraft with new seats and in-flight entertainment systems. The first of these refitted aircraft will enter service in mid-2024.
Tata Sons and Air India chairman N. Chandrasekaran: “This order is an important step in realising Air India’s ambition, articulated in its Vihaan.AI transformation programme, to offer a world class proposition serving global travellers with an Indian heart. “These new aircraft will modernise the airline’s fleet and onboard product, and dramatically expand its global network.”
Air India remains India’s largest international carrier, but its domestic market share stood at only 8.6 per cent in September. The carrier is aiming to take a 30 per cent domestic share by the end of 2027 while expanding its fleet to cover more international routes. “Air India’s landmark order with Airbus clearly signifies the airline’s future focus on a network that goes further, faster and longer. It and should pose a major threat to Gulf careers, Mark D. Martin, CEO of Martin Consulting and member of the Royal Aeronautics Society, said.
Air India’s induction of the Airbus A350 will help the airline operate with improved efficiency and reliability dovetailed with 35 per cent lower operating cost and over 28 per cent less carbon emissions, he said. The purchase of Airbus planes falls in line with the Star Alliance strategy of offering global connectivity right from India bypassing and surpassing other regional hubs such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Bahrain. Star Alliance is a global group of 26 airlines, including AI and Singapore Airlines.
“The broader game plan of AI with the eventual induction of Airbus will be to act as a critical catalyst with furthering the global reach of Star Alliance — which is the arch nemesis of West Asia and Gulf carriers,” Martin said.
