Air India signs $70 billion deal with Airbus, Boeing to buy 470 planes

PTI, Jun 21, 2023, 10:09 AM IST

Air India on Tuesday signed agreements with Airbus and Boeing for acquiring 470 planes for an estimated $70 billion at list prices.

The Tata Group-owned airline had announced that it will buy 470 aircraft, including wide-body planes, in February this year.

The “firm orders include 34 A350-1000, 6 A350-900, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 10 Boeing 777X widebody aircraft, as well as 140 Airbus A320neo, 70 Airbus A321neo and 190 Boeing 737MAX narrow-body aircraft,” the airline said in a release.

The purchase agreements were signed on the sidelines of the ongoing Paris Air Show.

Air India said the agreements go “one step further in its $70 billion (based on list prices) fleet expansion program that it announced in February this year”.

The Airbus A350 will lead the deliveries of the new aircraft later this year, with the bulk of the order to arrive from mid-2025 onwards, it said.

N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons and Air India, said the landmark step further positions Air India for long-term growth and success that, “we have every hope, will come together to represent the best of modern aviation to the world”.

Air India has already started taking delivery of 11 leased B777 and 25 A320 aircraft to accelerate its fleet and network expansion.

Campbell Wilson, Air India CEO and MD, said its ambitious fleet renewal and expansion programme will see the airline operate the most advanced and fuel-efficient aircraft across its route network within five years.

Satair, an Airbus company, and Boeing Global Services will support Air India with a broad range of solutions, including parts and maintenance provisioning, digital applications, and modification services.