Air India's CEO Campbell Wilson announced during a press conference on Monday that the airline's order for a record 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing will be at a list price of $70 billion.
How will Air India finance its 470 aircraft order?
Furthermore, the CEO of the Tata-owned airline explained that the airline plans to fund the deal with internal cash flow, equity, and the sale and leaseback of aircraft.
Wilson said, "We have committed to a historic order of new aircraft that will start entering the fleet from the end of this year through the end of the decade, to both transform the fleet and power significant network and capacity expansion."
"Air India has embarked on probably the greatest transformation in aviation history," Wilson added.
Air India's megadeal
Earlier this month, the airline announced that it would be adding 470 aircraft to its fleet. Of this 470 aircraft, 220 planes would be bought from Boeing and 250 aircraft would be bought from Airbus. This order is considered the biggest single order purchase by an aircraft.
Last week, the airline announced that they would be hiring over 5000 pilots and cabin crew members.
Wilson also said in the press conference, "We are adding 500 cabin crew members every month."
Future plans of expanding fleet
It is worth noting that in a now-deleted LinkedIn post, Air India Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer Nipun Aggarwal announced that the deal with the aircraft manufacturers includes 370 options apart from an order of 470 planes. This means the airline could buy 370 additional aircraft at the same price at which it bought the first set of 470 aircraft.
Air India- Vistara merger
The airline's CEO also announced that the Air India and Vistara merger is in the first phase. The next phase would be DGCA' approval for the merger followed by CCI's nod. The Tata group intends to end up with one full-service airline and one low-cost airline.
Also Read: Meet N Chandrasekaran's super team who sealed Air India's deal with Airbus, Boeing - BusinessToday