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Air India's order with European giant Airbus and USA’s Boeing is for 840 planes, out of which the firm order is for 470 planes and the remaining 370 are options, said Nipun Aggarwal, the airline’s chief commercial and transformation officer (CCTO), on Wednesday.
The airline 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," he 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."
"This order demonstrates the vision and aspiration of the Tata Group to transform Air India into a world class airline and connect India "non-stop" to every major city in the world. This order is also a testament to the tremendous economic potential unleashed by the Air India privatisation," he added.
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First Published: Thu, February 16 2023. 11:28 IST
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