Air India places order to purchase 100 more Airbus aircraft

Air India places order to purchase 100 more Airbus aircraft

Tata group-owned Air India on December 9 said it has placed an order to purchase 100 more Airbus aircraft, comprising 10 widebody A350 and 90 narrowbody A320 Family aircraft, including A321neo. These 100 new aircraft are in addition to the firm orders of 470 aircraft that Air India had placed with Airbus and Boeing last year.

When the Tata Group had last year ordered 470 planes worth $70 billion at list price - it had got an option and purchase rights for 370 more Airbus & Boeing planes to be procured over the next decade.

The latest order takes the total number of aircraft that Air India ordered with Airbus in 2023 from 250 aircraft, comprising 40 A350 and 210 A320 Family aircraft, to 350.

In a statement, Air India said it has tied up with Airbus for component and maintenance support for its A350 fleet.

"Air India also announced it has selected Airbus’ Flight Hour Services-Component (FHS-C) to support the maintenance requirements of its growing A350 fleet. The new materials & maintenance contract will help Air India to optimise the reliability and performance of its A350 fleet, with comprehensive engineering services and integrated component services including on-site stock at Delhi provided by Airbus," said the airline.

With the order for 100 additional aircraft, Air India currently has a total of 344 new aircraft incoming from Airbus, having received six A350s so far. Air India in 2023 had also placed orders for 220 widebody and narrowbody aircraft with Boeing, of which 185 aircraft remain to be delivered.

N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons and Air India, said: “With India’s passenger growth outpacing the rest of the world, its significantly improving infrastructure and an aspirational young population increasingly going global, we see a clear case for Air India to expand its future fleet beyond the firm orders of the 470 aircraft placed last year. These additional 100 Airbus aircraft will help to position Air India on the path to greater growth and contribute to our mission of building Air India into a world-class airline that connects India to every corner of the world.”

100 more @Airbus aircraft! We are happy to announce new orders for 10 A350s and 90 A320 Family aircraft, adding 100 more aircraft to our firm orders for 250 Airbus aircraft placed last year.With this, the total number of new aircraft we have ordered rises to 570, of which pic.twitter.com/OmfSWbJwbi
Air India (@airindia) December 9, 2024

Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO, said: “Having personally witnessed the formidable growth of the Indian aviation sector in recent months, I am glad to see Air India renew its trust in Airbus with this additional order for both our A320 Family and A350 aircraft. Through this continued partnership, we are committed to supporting the success of Air India's "Vihaan.AI" transformation plan under Tata's vision and leadership.”

"Air India is the first Indian airline to operate the Airbus A350, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Delivering exceptional fuel-efficiency, passenger comfort, and long-range capabilities, the A350s now offer an all-new Air India flying experience to travellers flying non-stop from Delhi to London and New York," said the airline.

Airbus had in October announced that an unnamed customer had placed an order for 75 A320-family jets and 10 long-haul A350s - a deal worth $6.3 billion after typical discounts, according to Cirium Ascend data.

Last month the airlines' Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson pointed out that its aggressive expansion to the US market would have been delayed by five year if the airline had waited for new planes to offer customers a more premium experience.

He also pointed out that there has been a delay in Air India getting delivery of 50 white tail aircraft, which were earlier expected to join the fleet by December this year. Out of the total 50 white tail Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, at least 35 have joined the fleet. These planes are being operated by Air India Express.

Indian airlines, including AI, AI Express and Akasa, have been getting planes - A350 and B737 MAX - from Airbus and Boeing that were made for carriers of other countries like Russia where they can't supply now due to sanctions and other reasons.

Air India has also rejiged its 250-aircraft order with Airbus that was placed last year. The airline had placed an original order for 250 aircraft with Airbus, comprising 210 narrowbody A320 family including 140 A320neo and 70 A321neo aircraft which was changed the order to 140 A321neo and 70 A320neo aircraft. The remaining 40 widebody A1350s included six A350-900 and 34 A350-1000s. The carrier had tweaked the widebody order to 20 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s.