Tata Group-run Air India said on Monday that it has placed an order to purchase 100 more Airbus aircraft, comprising 10 widebody A350 and 90 narrowbody A320 Family aircraft, including A321neo.
These 100 new aircraft are in addition to the firm orders of 470 aircraft that Air India had placed with Airbus and Boeing last year.
The latest order takes the total number of aircraft that Air India ordered with Airbus in 2023 from 250 aircraft, comprising 40 A350 and 210 A320 Family aircraft, to 350.
With the order for 100 additional aircraft, Air India currently has a total of 344 new aircraft incoming from Airbus, having received six A350s so far.
Air India in 2023 had also placed orders for 220 widebody and narrowbody aircraft with Boeing, of which 185 aircraft remain to be delivered. The company had then said that it has the option to expand its firm order of 470 planes by an additional 370 planes.
The fresh order by Air India with Airbus comes as it is struggling to get deliveries of Boeing planes on time.
Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson late last month said that they experienced delays from Boeing due to a strike at the aircraft manufacturer’s U.S. factory. Wilson revealed that the delivery of 50 “white tail” aircraft, initially expected to be completed by December this year, has been pushed to June 2025.
Additionally, Airbus is also facing supply chain-related issues and earlier this year had cut its delivery guidance. The company expects to hand over 770 aircraft this year, down from a previous goal of 800.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons and Air India said that these additional 100 Airbus aircraft will help to position Air India on the path to greater growth and contribute to their mission of building Air India into a world-class airline that connects India to every corner of the world.
Air India also said that it has selected Airbus’ Flight Hour Services-Component (FHS-C) to support the maintenance requirements of its growing A350 fleet.
“Having personally witnessed the formidable growth of the Indian aviation sector in recent months, I am glad to see Air India renew its trust in Airbus with this additional order for both our A320 Family and A350 aircraft,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO.
At present, full-service carrier Air India and its low-cost airline subsidiary Air India Express has a fleet of about 300 planes. Air India Group expects its fleet size to grow to 400 planes by 2027.
IndiGo, the country’s largest carrier, had a fleet of 410 aircraft as of 30th September 2024. In June last year, IndiGo made the world’s largest aircraft order by signing a deal for 500 A320neo family planes from Airbus. In April this year, it placed an order with Airbus for 30 A350-900 widebody aircraft.