Air India has confirmed a long-anticipated fleet renewal plan, placing orders 250 single-aisle and widebody aircraft from Airbus. Under a contract announced today, the carrier has agreed to buy 140 A320neos, 70 A321neo, 34 A350-1000s and six A350-900s.
According to Air India parent Tata Group, the new aircraft will support its plans to launch a larger, premium full-service carrier serving new routes in Asia, the U.S., and Europe. It anticipates rising demand for air travel, based in part on the projection that India will have the world’s largest population over the next decade, including an increasingly affluent middle class
Deliveries of the new aircraft are set to start in late 2023 with the first of the A350-900s in a three-class configuration. These will be the first of the long-haul twinjets to operate in the Indian market.
According to Air India CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson, the new aircraft will play a key role in underpinning the carrier’s “Vihaan.AI” transformation and growth strategy. “A core element of this transformation is the significant expansion of our network, both domestically and internationally, coupled with the elevation of our on-ground and onboard product to world-class standards,” he commented.