'70 widebodies, 400 single-aisle jets': Air India on mega deal with Boeing, Airbus for 470 planes

Tata Sons-owned Air India on Tuesday announced that it has signed letters of intent with Airbus and Boeing to acquire both widebody and single-aisle aircraft.

The order comprises 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777-9s widebody aircraft, as well as 210 Airbus A320/321 Neos and 190 Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle aircraft. The A350 aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce engines, and the B777/787s by engines from GE Aerospace. All single-aisle aircraft will be powered by engines from CFM International. The airline's landmark orders come at a time when it looks to take on domestic rivals such as IndiGo and international competitors including Emirates.

Tata Sons and Air India Chairman, N Chandrasekaran, said: “Air India is on a large transformation journey across safety, customer service, technology, engineering, network and human resources. Modern, efficient fleet is a fundamental component of this transformation. This order 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. 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.”

The first of the new aircraft will enter service in late-2023, with the bulk to arrive from mid-2025 onwards. In the interim, Air India has already started taking delivery of 11 leased B777 and 25 A320 aircraft to accelerate its fleet and network expansion.

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 Air India group currently comprises full-service Air India, as well as two low-cost subsidiaries Air India Express and Air Asia India which are in the process of merging. Tata in November announced the merger of Air India with Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines, to cement Air India as India's largest international carrier and second largest in the domestic market after IndiGo.

President Joe Biden hailed the "historic agreement" for Air India to purchase 220 Boeing airplanes with a list price of $34 billion.

The Air India order is Boeing’s third biggest in dollar value and second of all time in quantity, the White House said.

"This purchase will support over one million American jobs across 44 states, and many will not require a four-year college degree," Biden said in a statement.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed a mega deal by Air India to buy 250 jets from Airbus, saying it would create jobs and boost exports from Britain, where the French planemaker designs and makes aircraft wings.

"By building trade ties with growing economic powers like India we will ensure UK businesses remain at the forefront of global growth and innovation," he said in a statement.

The deal should create 450 manufacturing jobs and bring more than 100 million pounds ($122 million) of investment to Wales, where Airbus manufactures wings, the British department for business and trade said.

The deal also includes 40 wide-body A350 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce engines, which are assembled and tested in Derby in central England.

Air India, with its maharajah mascot, was once known for its lavishly decorated planes and stellar service but its reputation declined in the mid-2000s as financial troubles mounted.

With inputs from Reuters