Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer at Air India, announced on Thursday that the company has placed orders for 840 planes from Airbus and Boeing, with options to purchase an additional 370 planes.
In a LinkedIn post, he stated that the airline is humbled by the excitement generated by the airline's aircraft order around the world.
According to him, the 840-plane order is the culmination of a fascinating journey that began nearly two years ago with the privatisation of Air India.
"The order includes 470 firm aircraft as well as 370 options and purchase rights to be obtained from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade," he added.
This will be one of the largest airline aircraft orders in modern aviation history.
The Airbus firm order comprises 210 A320/321 Neo/XLR and 40 A350-900/1000. The Boeing firm order comprises 190 737-Max, 20 787s and 10 777s.
"We have also signed up for long-term maintenance of the engines with CFM International (CFM), Rolls-Royce and GE Aerospace," he said.
This was also the first time in more than 17 years that Air India, which was purchased from the government by Tata Group in January 2022, placed an order for aircraft. The airline will receive its first A350 aircraft by the end of this year.
According to Aggarwal, the order demonstrates Tata Group's vision and aspiration to transform Air India into a world-class airline that connects India "non-stop" to every major city in the world.
"This order is also a testament to the tremendous economic potential unleashed by the Air India privatisation," he said, adding that it is indeed a landmark moment in the history of Air India and Indian aviation.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Air India-Airbus transaction a "landmark deal" that reflects India's growing ties with France.
The prime minister, along with US Vice President Joe Biden, praised the historic agreement between Air India and Boeing as an example of mutually beneficial cooperation.
Air India, which was previously owned by the government, purchased new aircraft more than 17 years ago.
The airline's most recent order was for 111 planes, 68 from Boeing and 43 from Airbus, for a total of USD 10.8 billion. In 2005, the order was placed.
Currently, approximately 470 commercial Airbus aircraft are in service in India, and the European major's order book for Indian airlines totals approximately 850 planes. Around 159 Boeing planes are used by Indian airlines.
With more than 1,100 planes on order by various domestic carriers, the country's airline industry is poised for growth.