Air India places commands for 840 planes, including an option to purchase 370 aircraft

Air India's Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer Nipun Aggarwal on Thursday said Air India has placed orders for 840 planes from Airbus and Boeing, along with choices to purchase additional 370 aircraft.

In a LinkedIn post, he said the airline is humbled by the excitement generated across the world by the airline's aircraft order.

According to him, 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 added. This will be one of the largest aircraft orders by an airline in modern aviation history.

The Airbus firm order comprises 210 A320/321 Neo/XLR and 40 A350-900/1000. The Boeing firm order comprises 190 737-Max, 20 787s and 10 777s. "We have also signed up for long-term maintenance of the engines with CFM International (CFM), Rolls-Royce and GE Aerospace," he said.

This was also the first time in more than 17 years that Air India, which was acquired from the government by Tata Group in January 2022, has ordered planes. The first A350 plane will be delivered to the airline by the end of this year.

Aggarwal on Thursday said the order demonstrates 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 potential unleashed by the Air India privatization," he said, adding that it is indeed a landmark moment in the history of Air India and Indian aviation.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Air India-Airbus transaction as a "landmark deal" that also reflects the deepening ties between India and France.

The prime minister along with US President Joe Biden also welcomed the landmark agreement between Air India and Boeing as a shining example of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Air India, earlier under the ownership of the government, had acquired new aircraft more than 17 years ago.

The airline's last order was for 111 planes -- 68 from Boeing and 43 from Airbus -- and that deal was worth USD 10.8 billion. The order was placed in 2005.

Currently, in India, around 470 commercial aircraft of Airbus are in service and the European major's order book for Indian airlines is around 850  planes. Indian carriers operate around 159 Boeing planes.

The country's airline industry is poised for expansion with more than 1,100 planes on order by various domestic carriers.