Recording, Air India Borong Nearly 500 Airbus And Boeing Aircraft

Illustration of Boeing and Airbus aircraft belonging to Air India. (Wikimedia Commons/Ministry of Civil Aviation)

JAKARTA - Air India recorded a record aircraft purchase agreement when buying 470 units of jets made by Airbus and Boeing, along with the rise of the Indian airline under the new owner of the Tata Group.

The deal consists of 220 aircraft from Boeing 250 from Airbus, beating the previous record for one airline, as Air India competes with domestic giant IndiGo to serve what will soon become the largest population in the world.

US President Joe Biden called the agreement "historic" and discussed it by telephone with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Airbus orders include 210 narrow-body A320neo and 40 wide-body A350 aircraft, which Air India will use to fly an "ultra-long route", the Chairman of Tata N. Chandrasekaran said.

Meanwhile, Boeing will supply 190 series 737 MAX, 20 series 787 Dreamliners and 10 mini-jumbo 777X series.

Together with 25 other Airbus jets to be chartered, the overall acquisition reached 495 jets, an Airbus executive said.

The airline's revival under conglomerate Tata aims to take advantage of the growth of India's pilot base and the large diaspora around the world.

Campbell Wilson's new CEO is working to revive his reputation as a world-class airline, removing his image of being a slow airline with an aging fleet and poor service.

Indian and French leaders highlight the importance of politics and the economy of a deal involving national airlines.

"This important agreement shows that along with the deepening of relations between India and France, the success and aspirations of the civil aviation sector in India," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a video link with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"This achievement shows that Airbus and all of its French partners are fully dedicated to developing new areas with India," President Macron continued.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the deal would create new jobs.

"In addition to this deal with unprecedented measures, it's also very complicated," Wilson said in a note to employees.

Chairman Chandrasekaran said Airbus and Tata were working on a larger partnership, including ambitions "to bring commercial aircraft manufacturing in the future".

Industry sources said India had repeatedly lobbied Airbus to add a final assembly line in the country, matching factories in northern China, but the aircraft maker has so far rejected the idea for financial and industrial reasons.

Air India's order surpassed the previous record set by American Airlines, for 460 Airbus and Boeing aircraft more than a decade ago, in 2011 to be exact.

The plan is for the first batch to arrive 25 new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and six Airbus A350 in the second half of 2023, with shipments actually increasing in 2025 and beyond.