Air India has ordered another 100 Airbus jets as its continues its aggressive expansion under Tata Group ownership.
The firm order announced on 9 December – for 10 A350s and 90 A320neo-family aircraft – adds to the 470 Airbus and Boeing aircraft for which Air India already placed firm orders last year. Of those previously ordered aircraft, 40 were A350s and 210 were A320neo-family jets, alongside 190 737 Max jets, 20 787s, and 10 777Xs.
“With India’s passenger growth outpacing the rest of the world, its significantly improving infrastructure and an aspirational young population increasingly going global, we see a clear case for Air India to expand its future fleet beyond the firm orders of the 470 aircraft placed last year,” says the chair of Air India and Tata Sons, Natarajan Chandrasekaran.
“These additional 100 Airbus aircraft will help to position Air India on the path to greater growth and contribute to our mission of building Air India into a world-class airline that connects India to every corner of the world.”
Air India says that with the new commitment, it has 344 aircraft incoming from Airbus, having already received six A350s. Moreover, of the 220 widebody and narrowbody aircraft ordered from Boeing, 185 are still to be delivered.
Air India’s incoming A320neo-family aircraft are powered by CFM International Leap-1A engines.
