After the historic Airbus order, Air India on February 14 said it has also inked an agreement with American aerospace major Boeing for the supply of 220 aircraft.
As per the deal, the Tata group-controlled airline will purchase 190 narrow-body 737 MAX jets and 30 widebodies -- 20 of the Boeing 787, and 10 Boeing 777Xs, a statement noted.
The White House, in a separate release, also confirmed the signing of the Air India-Boeing pact. "This announcement reflects the strength of the U.S.-India economic partnership," it quoted US President Joe Biden as saying.
The Boeing deal announcement came hours after Air India, in a press conference, said it has signed an agreement with the UK-headquartered Airbus and Rolls-Royce for the supply of 250 Airbus aircraft. The airline will acquire 210 single-aisle A320neos and 40 widebody A350s, with the latter to be powered by Rolls-Royce engines.
The Boeing and Airbus deals, combined, is the largest order by any airline as Air India prepares to revamp itself under the Tata group with a fuel-efficient fleet.
"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 really ramping up in 2025 and beyond," Air India chief executive officer Campbell Wilson said.
The acquisition of new aircraft, which will come with an entirely new cabin interior, complements Air India’s previously announced plan to refit its existing widebody B787 and B777 aircraft with new seats and inflight entertainment systems. The first of these refitted aircraft will enter service in mid-2024, the statement added.
The order placed with Boeing and Airbus "is an important step in realising Air India’s ambition, articulated in its Vihaan.AI transformation program, to offer a world class proposition serving global travellers with an
Indian heart, said N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Air India and Tata Sons.
"These new aircraft will modernise the airline’s fleet and onboard product, and dramatically expand its global network. The growth enabled by this order will also provide unparalleled career opportunities for Indian aviation professionals and catalyse accelerated development of the Indian aviation ecosystem," Chandrasekaran added.
As earlier reported, Air India is looking to add over 90 planes to its fleet by 2025, including 56 planes that are part of mega aircraft orders signed with Airbus and Boeing. These will be in addition to previously announced leases of 36 planes by the airline in 2022.
Also Read : Boeing sees travel growth as Air India prepares huge jet order
Air India completed one year under the Tata Group on January 27. The Tatas had acquired 100 percent stake in Air India and Air India Express under a government-led strategic divestment programme.
In November, the group also announced that Vistara, a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, will be merged with Air India; Singapore Airlines is to hold 25.1 percent stake in the merged entity.
The company has also implemented a five-year plan called Vihaan to capture a 30 percent share in the domestic and international markets. As part of the plan, the carrier also aims to focus on growing both its network and fleet, revamping its customer proposition, reliability and on-time performance, technology, sustainability, and innovation, and wants to invest in the best talent in the industry.
Air India, earlier under the ownership of the government, had acquired new aircraft more than 16 years ago.
It has not purchased a single aircraft since 2005 and the last order was for 111 aircraft -- 68 with Boeing Co and remaining 43 with Airbus -- and that deal was worth $ 10.8 billion.
Last week, aviation consultancy CAPA said Indian carriers are likely to place orders for up to 1,700 planes by 2024 and Air India may make the first move with some 500 planes order.
Currently, Indian carriers operate less than 50 wide-body aircraft, an insignificant number for such a significant market. In contrast, Emirates alone has a fleet of over 260 wide-bodies, CAPA had said.
Recently, IndiGo started wide-body operations on India-Turkey route with a wet-leased B777 and plans to induct two more such planes.
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