Air India in expanded talks for up to 300 new jets, sources say

Air India

Air India is in talks with Airbus and Boeing to add more wide-body jets as it expands planned purchases to up to 300 aircraft, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, marking an acceleration of its turnaround under the Tata Group.

The negotiations now include as many as 80 to 100 wide-body jets, the sources said, on top of previously reported talks for 200 narrow-body jets and 25-30 wide-body aircraft.

Airbus said it does "not comment on confidential discussions, which may or may not be happening with customers." Air India and Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In June, Reuters reported that Air India was in talks with Airbus and Boeing for a major new aircraft order including some 200 extra narrow-body planes, topping up a mammoth deal in 2023.

That came on top of earlier discussions involving 25-30 wide-body jets, which Reuters reported in March.

Under the latest plans for the airline's rebranding as a modern global carrier under Tata, it is now looking at up to 300 more planes, the people familiar with the matter said.

It was not immediately clear how many of these may involve options rather than firm orders.

Such a deal would once again likely be shared between the two dominant global aircraft suppliers but the possible split has not been finalised, one of the sources said.

The ongoing talks come as Air India seeks to move past a Boeing 787 crash in June that killed 260 people in the Indian city of Ahmedabad.

Adding more wide-body jets to its fleet would help Air India bolster its international network and replace ageing planes.