Air India Confirms Order for Another 100 Airbus Jets

(Gurgaon, India) Tata Group-owned Air India confirmed an order for 100 Airbus (EPA: AIR) aircraft this morning.

Photo of an Air India-branded Airbus aircraft courtesy of Airbus.

Per Reuters, the deal is part of Air India’s multi-billion-dollar fleet modernization program, and ultimate plan to turn itself into a leading global airline.

The announcement comes on the heels of Airbus’s October announcement of an order for 75 A320 jets and 10 A350s by an unnamed customer, which sources said was likely to be Air India, according to Reuters.

Air India has today confirmed that it has, in fact, placed an order for 100 total aircraft, including 90 A320-family single-aisle jets and 10 A350 wide-bodies, in a deal worth about $6.4 billion after typical industry discounts, according to estimated delivery prices from UK-based Cirium Ascent, per Reuters.

The latest Air India order is already included in Airbus’ 2024 global order book, and comes on top of the 40 A350 and 210 A320 Family aircraft ordered by Air India in 2023; Air India’s total orderbook for Airbus aircraft now stands at 344 with six A350-900s having already been delivered, per today’s press release from Airbus.

Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons and Air India, commented: “With India’s passenger growth outpacing the rest of the world, its significantly improving infrastructure and an aspirational young population increasingly going global, we see a clear case for Air India to expand its future fleet beyond the firm orders of the 470 aircraft placed last year. These additional 100 Airbus aircraft will help to position Air India on the path to greater growth and contribute to our mission of building Air India into a world-class airline that connects India to every corner of the world.”

"Having personally witnessed the formidable growth of the Indian aviation sector in recent months, I am glad to see Air India renew its trust in Airbus with this additional order for both our A320 Family and A350 aircraft," said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. "Through this continued partnership, we are committed to supporting the success of Air India’s "Vihaan.AI" transformation plan under Tata’s vision and leadership."

Since taking control of Air India in 2022, Tata Group has spent billions on ordering hundreds of new jets, changing the carrier’s logo and upgrading interiors for over half its fleet to take on rivals Emirates and Qatar Airways, per Reuters.

The formerly state-owned Air India in February of last year ordered 250 jets from Airbus and 220 from Boeing, and had also negotiated a total of 370 options and purchase rights from the two planemakers on top of the main order, according to Reuters.

Earlier in the year, Air India kicked off a $400 million plan to refit old planes as part of its transformation into "a world class airline."

Last month, Air India merged with Vistara, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) and the Tatas; Singapore Airlines holds a 25% stake in the merged carrier and has agreed to invest up to an additional $600 million in Air India’s turnaround.