Air India to buy 470 jets in one of world's biggest aviation orders
Air India unveiled deals on Tuesday for a record 470 jets from Airbus and Boeing, accelerating the rebirth of a national emblem under new owners Tata Group as Europe and the United States hailed deepening economic and political ties with New Delhi.
The provisional deals include 220 jets from Boeing and 250 planes from Airbus and eclipse previous records for a single airline as Air India vies with domestic giant IndiGo to serve what will soon be the world's largest population.
United States President Joe Biden called the agreement 'historic' and discussed it by telephone with Indian Premier Narendra Modi- part of a flurry of high-level reactions as the scale of India's needs provided a rare bonanza for both competing plane giants in an industry where the winner usually takes all.
The Airbus order includes 210 A320neo narrowbody aircraft and 40 A350 widebody jets, which Air India will use to fly 'ultra-long routes', Tata Chairman N Chandrasekaran said.
Boeing will supply 190 737 MAX, 20 of its 787 Dreamliners and 10 mini-jumbo 777X.
Together with another 25 Airbus jets to be leased, the overall acquisition reaches 495 jets, an Airbus executive said.
Tata India's oldest and largest conglomerate, regained ownership of the debt-laden national carrier previous year. The Tata Group pioneered commercial aviation in India when it launched the airline in 1932. It was taken over by the government in 1953.
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