Explained | Air India’s mega aircraft deal with Boeing and Airbus Premium
The Hindu
What aircraft has Air India ordered? What are their features and specifications?
The story so far: Scripting history with the largest-ever aircraft order in the history of global aviation, Tata group-owned Air India on Tuesday announced jumbo deals with aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing to acquire 470 jets at an estimated cost of Rs 6.4 lakh crore.
The order includes 400 single-aisle aircraft (mainly used for domestic travel), split between 140 A320neos, 70 A321neos and 190 Boeing 737 MAXs, and 70 wide-body aircraft (mainly used for international travel) that include 34 A350-1000, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 10 Boeing 777-9 and six A350-900. Air India’s Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer Nipun Aggarwal said on Thursday that the agreement comprises an option for 370 additional jets, which implies that the cumulative number of ordered jets is 840.
Presently, Air India operates a mixed fleet of over 140 Airbus and Boeing planes, including B777-200LR, B777-300ER, B787-800 Dreamliner, A319, A320, A320neo and A321 jets. The airline last placed an aircraft order 17 years ago in 2006, when it signed a deal for 68 Boeing and 43 Airbus aircraft.
Reflective of the airline’s transformation roadmap ‘Vihaan.AI’ that seeks to revamp the ageing fleet, Air India’s deal marks a significant step towards re-establishing the airline as a world-class global carrier.
We take a look at the specifications of the aircraft that are set to join the Air India fleet.
The Airbus A350 is a wide-body, twin-aisle aircraft with two variants, A350-900 and A350-1000. While 300-410 passengers can be accommodated in three-class configurations, a maximum of 480 can be seated in a single-class layout.
The jetliner can fly on short-haul and ultra-long-haul routes non-stop for up to 18,000 kilometres. While an A350-900 can fly over 15,000 km, the longer A350-1000 has a range of over 16,000 km.
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