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New Delhi: Air India, India’s leading airline group and part of the Tata Sons conglomerate on February 14 announced that it has signed letters of intent with Airbus and Boeing to acquire both widebody and single-aisle aircraft.
The inking of the letters of intent has had both US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in obvious joy.
In a tweet US President Joe Biden @POTUS tweeted “I am proud to announce the purchase of over 200 American-made #aircraft through a historic agreement between Air India (@airindiain) & Boeing (@Boeing), says US President Joe Biden @POTUS”
In a statement issued by The White House (@WhiteHouse) yesterday, the US President said, “This purchase of more than 200 aircrafts will support over one million American jobs across 44 states. This announcement also reflects the strength of the US-India economic partnership. Together with Prime Minister Modi, I look forward to deepen our partnership even further, Joe Biden, US President.”
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in his tweet @RishiSunak remarked, “Brilliant news that Airbus and Rolls-Royce have announced a deal with AirIndia Limited with exports worth billions to the UK. The wings will be manufactured here in the UK by Airbus having been designed in Filton and assembled in Broughton. And the A350 aircrafts will be exclusively powered by Rolls-Royce XWB engines, designed and assembled in Derby. This deal will support thousands more jobs for the UK’s world-leading aerospace sector which as of 2021 employs over 111,000 people – 89% of whom are based outside of London and the Southeast. India is projected to be the world’s third largest economy by 2050, so export wins like this are a big boost to UK trade – a key way we can grow our economy.”
The Air India order comprises of 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777-9s widebody aircraft, as well as 210 Airbus A320/321 Neos and 190 Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle aircraft. The A350 aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce engines, and the B777/787s by engines from GE Aerospace. All single-aisle aircraft will be powered by engines from CFM International.
Commenting on the occasion, Tata Sons and Air India Chairman, N Chandrasekaran, said: “Air India is on a large transformation journey across safety, customer service, technology, engineering, network and human resources. Modern, efficient fleet is a fundamental component of this transformation. This order is an important step in realising Air India’s ambition, articulated in its Vihaan.Al transformation program, to offer a world class proposition serving global travellers with an Indian heart. These new aircraft will modernise the Airline’s fleet and onboard product, and dramatically expand its global network. The growth enabled by this order will also provide unparalleled career opportunities for Indian aviation professionals and catalyse accelerated development of the Indian aviation ecosystem.’
The first of the new aircraft will enter service in late-2023, with the bulk to arrive from mid-2025 onwards. In the interim, Air India has already started taking delivery of 11 leased B777 and 25 A320 aircraft to accelerate its fleet and network expansion.
The acquisition of new aircraft, which will come with an entirely new cabin interior, complements Air India’s previously announced plan to refit its existing widebody B787 and B777 aircraft with new seats and inflight entertainment systems. The first of these refitted aircraft will enter service in mid-2024.
