Monitoring Desk
NEW DELHI: Air India’s order for a record 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing will be at a list price of $70 billion, the company’s Chief Executive Campbell Wilson said on Monday, as the Tata group-owned airline seeks opportunities to expand in long haul international.
The airline had, earlier this month, announced provisional deals for 250 from Airbus and 220 planes from Boeing in an order that would surpass previous records for an order by a single carrier.
Air India plans to fund the order with a number of resources, including internal cash flow, sale-and-leaseback of aircraft and shareholder equity, Wilson told reporters at a press conference.
New jets to begin entering Air India’s fleet by end 2023
Wilson said the new aircraft would start entering the fleet by the end of this year through the end of the decade, and would both transform the fleet and aid significant network and capacity expansion.
Once considered a world-class airline in India, Air India saw its image tarnish in the mid-2000s owing to financial troubles, an ageing fleet and poor service.
The company’s renaissance under the Tata conglomerate, which took over the previously government-owned carrier last year, aims to benefit from India’s growing base of fliers and large diaspora across the globe.
The airline is inducting 500 cabin crew each month and said last week that it will recruit over 4,200 cabin crew and 900 pilots.
