Air India has placed an order for 85 more aircraft with Airbus, including 10 A350s, as the airline works on expanding operations, according to sources. Of the 85 airplanes, 75 are narrow-body A320 family aircraft and 10 wide-body A350 planes, the sources said in the know said on Thursday. There were no comments from Air India and Airbus.
In an update on Wednesday, Airbus said it has received orders for 667 aircraft this year till September. Among them, there was an order, received on September 5, for 85 planes – 20 A320 neos, 55 A321 neos, 5 A350-900s and 5 A350-1000s. The name of the airline was not disclosed. As per the sources, this order was by Air India.
Set up by JRD Tata in 1932, Tata Airlines was later nationalised and the name was also changed to Air India. Over the years, Ratan Tata’s longing to bring back Air India under the stewardship of Tata Group remained a dream. Back in 1994, Tata Group and Singapore Airlines made efforts to set up a joint venture airline in India. Six years later, they again tried to enter the country’s aviation market, this time by teaming up to acquire stakes in Air India.
In February 2023, Air India placed orders for 470 planes with Airbus and Boeing. The airline announced it will buy 250 planes from Airbus – 210 from the A320 neo family and 40 A350s. At that time, the carrier also had the option to purchase more aircraft. The sources said the Tata Group-owned Air India has exercised the option by ordering 85 more planes.
