Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce on Tuesday the biggest ever deal Air India is going to sign with Airbus and Boeing for the purchase of 500 aircraft.
Sources in the government and industry told businessline that PM Modi is expected to make public in Delhi on Tuesday the conclusion of negotiations Tatas was having with the two aircraft manufacturers to strengthen its Air India fleet since it completely took over the board of erstwhile national carrier in the January of 2022. The Tatas are said to have already signed the deal with both the companies but the announcement remains to be made, said sources.
Of the 500 odd aircrafts the Tatas intend to buy, 210 are from the Airbus A320 family and 190 are Boeing 737 Max. These would be single aisles and remaining twin aisles like A350s and B777X, also from the both leading defence and aerospace companies, said industry sources.
It’s learnt that the fleet of 500 aircrafts are expected to cost Tatas over $100 billion and would come to the domestic airliner in batches over next eight years.
Modi’s announcement about the private deal is expected to provide bouncy in the airlines market. The announcement would come ahead of much expected Delhi visit of French president Emmanuel Macron in the first half of the next month. There is also a buzz that the government may finalise the Indian Navy’s deal around the time of Macron’s tour to purchase fighter jets for its aircraft carrier INS Vikrant which is on sea trial before getting into operational duty. Dassault’s Rafale-M is pitted against Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornet in the final round ahead of announcement.
Next Year, the Tatas are supposed to merge all its carriers under one flagship of Air India to provide world class service.