Air India buys more than 450 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing
New Delhi:
Tata Group’s Air India has signed multibillion-dollar contracts with French Airbus and US aircraft maker Boeing to purchase 470 passenger jets in the largest retail event in commercial aviation history.
Here’s your 10-point cheat sheet for this big story:
The airline, which bought Tata Group from the government in October 2021, will buy 250 aircraft from Airbus and 220 from Boeing.
“I am proud to announce today the purchase of more than 200 American-made aircraft through a historic agreement between Air India and Boeing. This purchase will support more than one million US jobs in 44 states, and many will not be able to complete a four-year college degree. training required.” US President Joe Biden said in a statement today.
There is an option for Air India to purchase an additional 70 aircraft from Boeing, bringing the total deal value to $45.9 billion.
Tata Group’s deal with Airbus for 250 aircraft includes 40 A350 long-haul wide-body aircraft and 210 narrow-body aircraft, believed to be variants of the A320neo family of jetliners. This deal will cost more than $100 billion.
“It is a historic moment for Airbus to help shape Air India’s resurgence,” Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said in a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ratan Tata, French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders.
“This contract is a milestone in friendly relations between India and France,” Macron said at the conference, which also included Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Jyotiraditya Scindia and Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran.
The A350 family has two versions: the A350-900 and the longer-fuselage A350-1000.
Airbus says A350s fly efficiently on every sector from short-haul to ultra-long-haul routes up to 17,000 km, carrying 300 to 410 passengers in typical three-class configurations and up to 480 passengers in a single-class layout.
Airbus’ narrow-body aircraft include the A320 and A220 family aircraft. Many airlines in India already operate the A320 family.
Air India is also likely to refresh its livery. Last month, it pledged $400 million to refurbish the interior of its entire widebody fleet. Air India said these seats will feature the “latest generation of seats and the best in-flight entertainment systems”.
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