Is Air India's mega deal with Airbus and Boeing of 470 or 840 aircraft?

Tata-owned Air India's deal with the two aircraft makers, Airbus and Boeing, to buy 470 aircraft is being hailed as the largest deal in the history of civil aviation, but it seems like this number could go up to as high as 840, as per the airline’s Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer, Nipun Aggarwal.

In a post on the professional networking site LinkedIn, Aggarwal wrote: “It is indeed a landmark moment in the history of Air India and Indian aviation. This order of 840 aircraft has been a culmination of a fascinating journey that began almost two years ago starting with the Air India privatisation process.” 

This means Air India has the option to buy an additional 370 planes from the aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus.

Aggarwal also shed light on the aircraft models which would be added to the existing fleet of the airline. “The order comprises of 470 firm aircraft, 370 options, and purchase rights to be procured from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade. The Airbus firm order comprises 210 A-320/321 Neo / XLR and 40 A350-900/1000. The Boeing firm order comprises 190 737-Max, 20 787s and 10 777s," he noted.

Air India’s fleet, at the moment, has around140 aircraft. The company announced in its transformation plan -- which was released in September last year and was dubbed 'Vihaan' -- that they plan on taking over 30 per cent market share of the Indian aviation sector with non-stop flights across major routes.

This was echoed by Aggarwal who wrote in his post: “This order demonstrates the vision and aspiration of Tata Group to transform Air India into a World Class Airline and connect 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.”

Aggarwal, along with top Air India executives Yogesh Agarwal, Pranay Todi, Naman Jain, and Jinesh Papdiwal, were part of the core team who completed the historic deal. 

“I would like to make a special acknowledgment of the contribution by my core team comprising Yogesh Agarwal, Pranay Todi, Naman Jain and Jinesh Papdiwal who have been instrumental in driving and concluding this campaign. It’s really been a pleasure to work with such talented people,” Aggarwal wrote.

Air India announced on Tuesday that they would be adding 470 aircraft manufactured by Boeing and Airbus to their fleet.

Business Today has reached out to Air India for a response on the same. The copy will be updated with their response.

Also Read: Ticket size of Air India's record order for almost 500 Airbus, Boeing jets could be roughly $110 bn: Mark Martin - BusinessToday