Aviation
Commercial /
Asia
big order
Air India may negotiate new planes to renew its fleet
Boeing 777-300
Air India
John Taggart, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Rafael Ramos
6/22/2022
Air India, the main Indian airline, which recently became part of the Tata group, is looking to renew its already existing fleet of planes, which have an average age of over 10 years. Boeing and Airbus are in talks with the airline's new owners about an order, which could be large.
Negotiations are still at a preliminary stage. No decision has yet been made on the type of plane, the number of aircraft or the model chosen. However, both narrowbody aircraft, which form the company's base of domestic and short-haul operations, and widebody aircraft are being discussed.
The narrow-body planes could be either the Airbus A320neo family or the Boeing 737 MAX. As for widebodys, the company would be considering including the Airbus A350-900 and/or the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in its fleet.
If so, this purchase could cost tens of billions of dollars, based on the list price of the planes. However, negotiations of this size always take place under special conditions. Furthermore, such a large acquisition could take more than a decade to complete, given the production capacity of manufacturers today.
Either way, renewing the fleet appears to be a priority for Air India, which faces stiff competition from foreign airlines operating directly to India, as well as airlines operating from hubs in the Middle East.
"Fleet-wise, we know we have work to do," Natarajan Chandrasekaran, president of the Tata Group, told Air India employees earlier this month at an internal company briefing, according to a Bloomberg News video.
Currently, Air India has 153 aircraft in its fleet, including the Boeing 737 jets, the Airbus A320 and its 49 widebody jets from the same manufacturers. However, this combination of manufacturers can be complicated, as it requires different pilot training, maintenance and crew for each aircraft.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Image: Boeing
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Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
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