Ten things to know about Air India's record-breaking deals with Airbus and Boeing
Ten things to know about Air India's record-breaking deals with Airbus and Boeing
On Tuesday, Air India announced agreements to purchase a record-breaking 470 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Here are five things you should know about this significant advancement in the Indian aviation industry.
* As Air India competes with domestic behemoth IndiGo to serve what will soon be the largest population in the world, the tentative deals, which include 220 planes from Boeing and 250 from Airbus, break previous records for a single airline.
* According to Tata Chairman N Chandrasekaran, the Airbus order for Air India includes 210 A320neo narrowbody aircraft and 40 A350 widebody aircraft. Air India will employ these aircraft to fly "ultra-long routes." Boeing will provide 10 mini-jumbo 777X aircraft, 20 737 MAX aircraft, and 20 787 Dreamliners.
* According to an Airbus official, the total procurement now stands at 495 Airbus planes, including the additional 25 that will be leased.
Chandrasekaran claimed that Airbus and Tata were forming larger alliances with the goal of "bringing in commercial aircraft manufacture at some point in the future."
* Air India's order surpasses the 460 Airbus and Boeing jets that American Airlines purchased together more than ten years ago.
* In the second half of 2023, 25 brand-new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and six brand-new Airbus A350 aircraft will arrive, with deliveries really picking up in 2025 and beyond.
* The agreement benefits French company Safran and General Electric's joint venture, CFM International, which makes engines. While larger jets will be powered by GE or Britain's Rolls-Royce, it has been chosen to power 210 Airbus narrowbody jets ahead of rival Pratt & Whitney.
* British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the pact will create new jobs, while US President Joe Biden referred to it as "historic."
According to Reuters, who cited insiders, "it took months of covert negotiations held just a short distance from Britain's Buckingham Palace and culminated in a celebration over coastal Indian curries" to reach the largest agreement ever reached by one airline.
* According to Reuters, negotiations between Air India's chief commercial and transformation officer, Nipun Aggarwal, and Yogesh Agarwal, head of aircraft purchases, frequently went late into the night.
SOURCES
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