In an exceptional move, Air India created waves in the aviation sector by signing a breakthrough deal with Airbus and Boeing for 250 and 220 airplanes, respectively. The deal was announced by Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran at an online session attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The national carrier will buy 40 widebody A350 aircraft and 210 narrow-body planes from Airbus and has the option to increase the fleet size. Its deal with Boeing is worth USD 45.9 billion and includes 190 Boeing 737 MAXs, 10 Boeing 777Xs, and 20 Boeing 787s. In addition, it can buy an additional 20 Boeing 787s and 50 Boeing 737 MAXs. This is Boeing’s second-largest deal in terms of quantity and third-largest in terms of valuation.
This marks the first purchase by Air India in over seventeen years and the first after the Tata takeover. The carrier plans to buy more than 2,000 aircraft in the next fifteen years.
Calling the deal a ‘shining example of mutually beneficial cooperation, US President Joe Biden said this reflects the solid American-Indian economic partnership. The deal is expected to have a USD 70 billion economic impact across the US and create approximately 1.47 million direct and indirect employment.
