Air India is coming close to placing milestone orders for at least 500 jets worth tens of billions of dollars from both Airbus and Boeing. It is now fully owned by Tata Sons through its fully owned subsidiary, Talace Private Limited, which took over a 100% stake in Air India in January this year. Air India is India’s national carrier connecting both international and national destinations.
They also said that the orders include 400 narrow-body jets and 100 or over wide-bodies, with many Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s and 777s. The order is yet to be completed with the last stroke of the brush still left on the deal.
Such a transaction might surpass $100 billion at list prices, including any options, and rank among the largest in terms of volume placed by a single airline, surpassing an order placed by American Airlines more than ten years ago for 460 Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
Tata’s expansion plans with Air India
The deal profits Tata with a fleet of 218 aircraft, making Air India the country’s biggest international carrier and second biggest in the domestic market after IndiGo.
After buying debt-ridden Air India, Tata has gained access to important flying rights and landing regions, including the United States and various countries in Europe.
The order has a strategy behind it to take over a big share of India’s huge overseas diaspora and its major cities like Delhi and Mumbai, dominated by foreign rivals such as Emirates.
Air India also intends to grab a larger share of international traffic and the domestic market, signaling direct competition with IndiGo both in and outside India.
The 500 jets which would arrive over the next decade, would replace and grow aircraft in the world’s fastest-growing air travel market, with this it aims to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission of expanding the economy to $5 trillion.
The bad times
The maharajah mascot of Air India was originally associated with opulently decorated aircraft and first-rate service, but as financial difficulties grew in the mid-2000s, its reputation began to tarnish.
JRD Tata founded Air India in 1932, and it became a national carrier in 1953. After regaining control in January, Tata has been attempting to restore its standing as a premier airline.
