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Air India to buy 250 planes from Airbus, 220 from Boeing

Tata Group-owned Air India said it will buy a total of 470 wide-body and narrow-body planes from Airbus and Boeing as the airline expands its operations.

“The order comprises 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777-9s wide-body 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 said in a statement.

The Airbus deal was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emanuel Macron.

The order includes 40 wide-body A350s and 210 Airbus narrow-body aircraft. During a virtual event, Chandrasekaran said a letter of intent has been signed with Airbus for the acquisition of the aircraft. The wide-body aircraft will be used for ultra-long flights.

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. Tata Group acquired Air India in January last year.

Air India, earlier under the ownership of the government, had acquired new aircraft more than 17 years ago.

The airline’s last order was for 111 planes — 68 from Boeing and 43 from Airbus — and that deal was worth $10.8 billion. The order was placed in 2005. On January 27, when the Tata Group completed the first year of taking over Air India, the airline said it was “finalising a historic order of new aircraft to power future growth.”

Meanwhile, Air India will also purchase 220 planes from Boeing for $34 billion, with an option to buy 70 more aircraft that could take the total transaction value to $45.9 billion, a deal that U.S. President Joe Biden described as a “historic agreement”.

While announcing the Boeing-Air India deal, Biden also asserted that together with PM Modi, he was looking forward to deepen the ties between India and the U.S.

As per an announcement from the White House, Boeing and Air India have reached an agreement under which the airline will purchase 190 B737 MAX, 20 B787, and 10 B777X for a total of 220 firm order valued at $34 billion at list price.

The deal will also include customer options for an additional 50 Boeing 737 MAX and 20 Boeing 787, totalling 290 airplanes for a total of $45.9 billion at list price.

“I am proud to announce today the purchase of over 200 American-made aircraft through a historic agreement between Air India and Boeing,” Biden said.

The Air India order is Boeing’s third biggest sale ever in dollar value and second in terms of number of planes.