MUMBAI, DEC 10 – Air India has placed an order to buy 100 additional Airbus aircraft, the Tata Group-owned airline said yesterday, in a deal aimed at strengthening its fleet and attracting more passengers.
The airline stated that the deal consists of 10 wide-body A350 aircraft and 90 narrow-body A320 aircraft.
The new purchase, the company said in a statement, was ‘in addition’ to the order for 470 aircraft that Air India had booked with Airbus and Boeing last year.
When the two deals were announced, they were the largest orders announced at the same time by a commercial airline, with list price calculations for the planes showing an estimated value of more than US$70 billion.
“This latest order brings the total number of aircraft booked by Air India with Airbus in 2023 from 250 aircraft, comprising 40 A350 aircraft and 210 A320 aircraft, to 350,” the airline said in a statement, without providing price details for the latest order. .
Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandra-sekaran said the airline saw a ‘clear case’ for Air India to expand its future fleet beyond the 470 aircraft on order by 2023.
“These additional 100 Airbus aircraft will help put Air India on a path to greater growth and contribute to our mission to build Air India into a world-class airline that connects India to every corner of the world,” Chandrasekaran said in a statement. – AFP
