INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: In one of the biggest ever aircraft orders, Air India is all set to order almost 500 aircraft
Simultaneously, the Tata Group has signed deals for engines original equipment manufacturers for these aircraft
In addition to these firm orders, AI will have many planes as options also Air India, Airbus and Boeing did not comment on this.The Tatas
are in the midst of merging erstwhile AirAsia India into Air India Express to create a big low cost carrier (LCC) and merging Vistara into
AI to create a big full service carrier (FSC).The Boeing 737 Max will go to the mega LCC that is being created and will be under the AI
The other aircraft will go to FSC AI, with the single aisles operating on domestic and nearby international routes
The wide bodies will be used for medium (Europe and fair east), long (north coast of North America) and ultra long haul (west coast)
The integrated AI aims to garner 30% market share on both the domestic and international front
The big order is a boost for Boeing which till recently did not have any financially stable airline customer in India till late Rakesh
Jhunjhunwala-funded Akasa took to the skies last year
It has not delivered even a single B737 Max to cash-strapped SpiceJet post-Covid while the airline has large number of them on order
Its other customers include GoAir with both these two low cost carriers having hinders of A320neos on order
Air India (erstwhile Indian Airlines), Vistara and erstwhile AirAsia India uses the A320
on Ukraine, Airbus and Boeing had 12,669 unfulfilled orders as on December 31, 2022
Delivery slots are very hard to come by for at least the next couple of years, while for narrow bodies the situation is tight until 2029,
CAPA-India and said recently
So ordering aircraft in time is essential for AI to get delivery slots in coming years so that it can also phase out its old planes
The aircraft now being ordered will be a mix of sale and lease back and owned
the state-owned Maharaja saw no investment being made on these items
upgrade the existing product
In the last one year since Tatas took over and started infusing funds, the number of operating aircraft in the last one year has increased
Sixteen new international routes have been started or announced (to be launched shortly) and frequency on nine existing ones have been
Average daily passengers have risen by 72% and daily revenue has doubled
