Air India to buy 250 planes from Airbus

New Delhi: Tata Group-owned Air India will buy 250 aircraft, including 40 wide-body planes, from Airbus as the airline expands its fleet and operations. This is the first time in more than 17 years that Air India has placed an aircraft order. It is also the first order placed by the carrier under the ownership of Tata Group.
On Tuesday, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said Air India has signed a letter of intent to acquire 250 aircraft from Airbus. It will include 40 wide-body A350 planes and 210 narrow-body aircraft. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury attended the launch of the partnership.
Last week, Reuters reported about the deal which it said could be the single largest order by any airline. Air India signed the deal with France-based Airbus on February 10, the report said. In January last year, Tata Group took control of Air India after winning the bid for Rs 18,000 crore. Ever since it acquired the airline, the Tata Group has taken a number of steps to corner a larger share of the aviation sector. In September last year, Air India unveiled a multi-stage transformation roadmap – Vihaan.AI (which in Sanskrit signifies the dawn of a new era) – towards what it said becoming a world-class global airline.
As per the plan, the airline over the next five years will strive to increase its market share to at least 30 per cent in the domestic market while significantly growing the international routes from the present market share. “The plan is aimed at putting Air India on a path to sustained growth, profitability, and market leadership,” it had said while laying out the roadmap.
Commenting on the transformation plan, Air India MD and CEO Campbell Wilson said the airline’s fleet expansion would involve a combination of both narrow-bodied and wide-bodied aircraft to cater to varied network needs. In November, the Tata Group announced the merger of Vistara – a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines – with Air India. With this consolidation, Air India became the largest international carrier and second largest domestic carrier after IndiGo with a combined fleet of 218 aircraft.