Air India will purchase 250 plane, together with 40 wide-body planes, from Airbus, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran mentioned on Tuesday.
The Tata Group-owned airline will purchase 40 wide-body A350 planes and 210 narrow-body plane.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron attend the launch of the brand new Air India-Airbus Partnership through video convention.
Throughout a digital occasion being attended by the prime minister and French president, amongst others, Chandrasekaran mentioned a letter of intent has been signed with Airbus for the acquisition of the plane. Modi mentioned that Air India-Airbus deal exhibits strengthening of strategic partnership between India and France.
“Indian aviation sector will want greater than 2,000 plane within the subsequent 15 years,” Modi mentioned through the occasion.
Air India will get 250 Airbus planes, 210 single-aisle A320neos and 40 widebody A350s, value greater than $50 billion at checklist costs. The wide-body plane shall be used for ultra-long flights.
“The order for 250 planes is step one in not solely increasing Air India’s capability but in addition within the journey to manufacturing business plane in India,” Chandrasekaran mentioned.
In January final 12 months, Tata Group acquired nationwide provider Air India.
Final month, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson mentioned the airline is finalising a historic order of latest plane. Air India, earlier beneath the possession of the federal government, had acquired new plane greater than 16 years in the past.
The airline has not bought a single plane since 2005 and the final order was for 111 plane, 68 with Boeing Co and remaining 43 with Airbus, and that deal was value $10.8 billion.
The deal will more likely to embrace 40 wide-body Airbus A350s, and Air India would be the first Indian provider to function the plane. Up to now, Air India had operated wide-body A330s.
On Wednesday, aviation consultancy CAPA mentioned Indian carriers are more likely to place orders for as much as 1,700 planes by 2024 and Air India could make the primary transfer with some 500 planes order.
At the moment, Indian carriers function lower than 50 wide-body plane, an insignificant quantity for such a big market. In distinction, Emirates alone has a fleet of over 260 wide-bodies, CAPA had mentioned.
Just lately, IndiGo began wide-body operations on India-Turkey route with a wet-leased B777 and plans to induct two extra such planes.
