Air India is said to be in the final stages of finalizing an agreement with Boeing for an order of up to 220 aircraft that would include 190 737 MAX, 20 787, and 10 777X aircraft.
An official announcement should be made shortly, according to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter. A staff note sent by the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Campbell Willson, said that the airline is ‘finalizing a historic order of new aircraft,’ per FlightGlobal reports. Wilson sent the memo on January 27, 2023.
Tata Group, an India-based conglomerate, finalized the agreement to purchase Air India from the Indian government on January 27, 2022. Air India was originally founded by the conglomerate as Tata Airlines in 1932.
The order has been the subject of rumor for quite some time, with previous reports indicating that the carrier would also buy aircraft from Airbus, including jets from the A320 family and A350s, with 235 and 40 units, respectively.
Boeing’s private jet, a 737-700 BBJ registered as N839BA, has been spotted flying into Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM), in Mumbai, India, having flown in from Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) on January 26, 2023.
Since being acquired by the Tata Group, Air India has also announced that it would merge with Air Vistara, which is jointly owned by the conglomerate and Singapore Airlines. The merger is expected to be completed in H2 2024.
If the order is finalized, it would be another huge order that Boeing has managed to win in the space of a few months. The United States-based manufacturer previously closed a deal with United Airlines, which ordered 100 737 MAX and 100 787 aircraft in December 2022.