Air India on Thursday has placed orders for 840 planes from Airbus and Boeing, including options to purchase additional 370 aircraft.
Initially, Air India has announced that they will be placing orders for 470 planes. As part of its deal, AI had the option to buy additional 370 planes.
In a LinkedIn post, Air India's Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer Nipun Aggarwal 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. The order comprises 470 firm aircraft, 370 options and purchase rights to be procured from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade," he said.
The Airbus firm order comprises 210 A-320/ 321 Neo / XLR and 40 A350-900/1000. The Boeing firm order comprises 190 737-Max, 20787s and 10 777s. We have also signed for long term maintenance of the engines with CFM Internation (CFM), Rolls-Royce and GE Aerospace, he said.
"This order demonstrated the vision and aspiration of 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 potentional unleashed by the Air India privatisation," stated the post.
The total deal value of the deal to buy a total of 470 planes, that was earlier planned, was estimated to be USD 80 billion.
Reportedly the first new aircraft will enter service in late 2023 and the bulk of the planes are to arrive from mid-2025 onwards.
Meanwhile, United States President Joe Biden had called the Air India-Boeing deal a “landmark” one. He had said that it will create up to 1 million jobs across 44 states in the US.
The mega commercial plane deal between Air India and Boeing is an opportunity to deepen an already profoundly intertwined relationship between India and the United States, the US said Wednesday.
"It's an opportunity to deepen what is already a profoundly intertwined relationship based on shared interests, based on shared values, based on our deep economic ties. And with the announcements between Boeing and Air India yesterday, those ties are all the deeper," said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.
"It is something that we've heralded. It is an opportunity not only for the American economy and for workers here in this country, but it's an opportunity for the Indian people as well," said Price.