The order comprises 470 long and short-haul aircraft from both Boeing and Airbus. A total of 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777-9s wide body jets have been agreed, plus 210 Airbus A320/321 neos and 190 Boeing 737 Max single-aisle aircraft.
The first new aircraft will enter service later this year, with the bulk to arrive from mid-2025 onwards. Meanwhile, Air India has leased 11 Boeing 777s and 25 Airbus A320s. It said new orders would come with “an entirely new cabin interior” with the first in service in mid-2024.
India’s Tata Group took over the carrier in January 2022, ending 69 years of government ownership. One of Tata’s first actions was to move Goa and Kerala leisure flights from Heathrow to Gatwick, using the Heathrow slots to increase services to Delhi and Mumbai. Services to Amritsar and Ahmedabad will also move from 26 March.
The Air India group currently comprises full-service Air India and low-cost subsidiaries Air India Express and Air Asia India, which are being merged. Air India will also be merged with full-service airline Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines in which Tata holds a 51% share.
The plan, subject to regulatory approval, is to operate a single full-service airline, Air India and a low- cost airline, Air India Express.
