Recently, there have been reports that Tata’s Air India is in expansion mode. A recent report by Reuters says that Air India is working to seal half of its order for planes that worth billions of dollars. According to Reuters, the deal is for about 495 jets with Boeing and engine suppliers General Electric and CFM International. It includes 190 Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody planes, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777X. Air India would place the order on the day that marks one year of Tata Group’s acquisition of the carrier.
The second half of the order, which includes about 235 Airbus single-aisle jets and about 40 airbus A350 widebody aircraft will be done in the coming days. It is unclear whether the deal would be publicly disclosed.
Once finalised, the order would put Air India in the league of large global airlines and also enhance its presence in the domestic market that is dominated by budget carrier IndiGO. Post Covid, the domestic market has been showing a travel surge with 47 per cent growth in 2022 compared to the previous year. India’s outbound passenger traffic is dominated by Middle Eastern airlines like Emirates and Qatar Airways.
The new deal is part of Air India’s efforts to rebuild its reputation in India and overseas. Earlier, the airline had said that it would spend more than 400 million dollars to restore its widebody fleet of 27 Boeing 787-8s and 13 777 aircraft.
