Air India Set To Order 500 Jets From Boeing And Airbus. Why Is This Deal Significant?

As per reports, Air India is set to place an order for 500 jet planes which will cost more than tens of billions of dollars. Air India plans to place these orders from two main aircraft manufacturers; Boeing and Airbus. These jet purchases are all reportedly a part of Tata’s plan to grow and extend its reach in the Indian and international air travel industry. As per industry sources, this large order for aircrafts includes around 400 orders for narrow-body jets as well as 100 or more wide-body planes. As a part of the deal, Air India under Tata is ordering dozens of Airbus A350s, Boeing 787s, and Boeing 777s and the deal is reportedly in the final stages.

As per reports, Air India is set to place an order for 500 jet planes which will cost more than tens of billions of dollars. Air India plans to place these orders from two main aircraft manufacturers; Boeing and Airbus. These jet purchases are all reportedly a part of Tata’s plan to grow and extend its reach in the Indian and international air travel industry. As per industry sources, this large order for aircrafts includes around 400 orders for narrow-body jets as well as 100 or more wide-body planes. As a part of the deal, Air India under Tata is ordering dozens of Airbus A350s, Boeing 787s, and Boeing 777s and the deal is reportedly in the final stages.

If this massive deal for around 500 planes goes through successfully, it will most likely be the largest-ever deal to happen in terms of aircraft orders. Experts say that at list prices for the planes, this deal could very well go above $100 billion in cost and would rank among the largest purchase ever by a single airline company. At this time, the record for the largest single order for aircrafts by a company is the order of 460 jets from Boeing and Airbus by American Airlines, more than a decade ago in 2011. The Air India deal is significant at this time as it could turn out to be the largest-ever deal of all time, especially since the air travel industry has been plagued by many issues over the past few years. Experts see this deal as a positive sign for the airline industry which has been struggling severely due to Covid-19 lockdowns in recent years, although the demand for air travel is growing again now that lockdowns have been lifted in most parts of the world for few months.

Information about this deal comes just a few days after Tata officially announced the merger of Air India with Vistara, which is one of Tata’s joint-venture companies with Singapore Airlines. Tata aims to strengthen their hold over domestic and international airline business with this deal. After the merger deal, Singapore Airlines will hold a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India with an investment of ₹2058.5 crore, which will now comprise all the fleets from Vistara, Air India, AirAsia India, and Air India Express. After the merger, Air India will have a combined fleet of 218 aircrafts, making Air India among the largest international and domestic airline carriers in India. 

As per reports, this order for 500 jets would be delivered gradually over a period of 10 years, and these 500 jets would replace and add to Air India’s already massive fleet. With this new deal for 500 planes, experts say Air India aims to become one of the largest Indian players in the Indian and international air travel market and compete with the likes of Emirates for market share.