Tata-owned Air India has placed orders for 840 planes from Airbus and Boeing, including options to purchase additional 370 aircraft, a senior airline official said on Thursday. Nipun Aggarwal, chief commercial and transformation officer of Air India, in a LinkedIn post, said the airline is humbled by the excitement generated across the world by the airline’s aircraft order.
This order of 840 aircraft has been a culmination of a fascinating journey that began almost two years ago starting with the Air India privatisation process, Aggarwal said. “The order comprises 470 firm aircraft, 370 options and purchase rights to be procured from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade,” he said.
Air India on Tuesday said it has placed a firm order of 250 planes with Airbus and 220 planes with Boeing. This is the world’s largest single-tranche aircraft order ever.
On Wednesday night, Aggarwal said on LinkedIn: “The order comprises 470 firm aircraft, 370 options and purchase rights to be procured from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade. The Airbus firm order comprises 210 A320/321Neo/XLR and 40 A350-900/1000.”
“The Boeing firm order comprises 190 B737Max, 20 B787s and 10 B777s. We have also signed up for a long- term maintenance of the engines with CFM International, Rolls-Royce and GE Aerospace,” Aggarwal said.
The airline has not said when the deliveries of these planes will begin. However, Airbus has stated that the deliveries for A350s will begin from this year. Sources said that the deliveries for A321neos could begin from 2026.
Moreover, the sources said that while the wide body planes may be purchased by the airline, the narrow body planes could be taken under sale-and-leaseback model. Under the sale-and-leaseback model, a new aircraft is sold to a lessor, which then immediately leases it back to the airline, helping the carrier free up its cash flow.
Aggarwal said: “It is indeed a landmark moment in the history of Air India and Indian aviation. This order of 840 aircraft has been a culmination of a fascinating journey that began almost two years ago starting with the Air India privatisation process.”