Air India has confirmed it is placing a 250-strong order with Airbus.
According to the first reports that have emerged on February 14, 2023, this order would include 40 A350 wide bodies and 210 single-aisle A320-family aircraft.
The long-anticipated Airbus mega-order from Air India has finally been confirmed by N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Group, the business conglomerate that owns the airline, in a joint video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Airbus CEO, Guillaume Faury. Mr. Chandrasekaran added that the order could be increased at a later time as the airline fulfills its growth plans.
The Airbus order is thought to be slightly more than half of a massive Air India re-fleeting plan that could see it soon ordering another 220 aircraft from Boeing as well, for a total of 470 new aircraft that the airline expects to induct into service during the next decade.
The announcement was made during the Aero India 2023 air show, which is taking place between February 13 and 17, 2023, in Bengaluru.
Confirming what was already reported in the Indian media before, the announcement also mentioned the interest of the parties involved in bringing some of the Airbus commercial aircraft production to India on account of the large volume of civilian aircraft orders placed in the country.