Airbus Discloses Air India Order For 10 A350s & 90 A320 Family Planes

Airbus and Air India have disclosed that the Indian airline has added another 100 aircraft to its order book, with the new order being split between 90 A320neo and ten A350 family aircraft, which had already been included in the manufacturer’s orders and deliveries filings.

Another 100 Airbus aircraft

On December 9, Airbus and Air India issued a joint statement, announcing that Air India has firmed up another order for 100 aircraft, including the A320neo and A350 aircraft families. The European plane maker pointed out that the order had already been included in its filings in 2024.

Airbus’ orders and deliveries data from November showed that on September 5, an undisclosed customer purchased 20 A320neo, 55 A321neo, five A350-900, and five A350-1000 aircraft.

Previous reports had indicated that the unidentified customer, which had placed an initial 85 aircraft order (75 A320neo and A321neo, five A350-900 and A350-1000 each) in September, was Air India.

On October 21 and October 25, the manufacturer booked another five and ten A320neo orders from an unidentified carrier, respectively, possibly meaning that the newest Air India deal was done in several steps. With the latest order, Air India now has 344 Airbus aircraft on order, the plane maker highlighted.

The manufacturer has already handed over six Airbus A350-900s to Air India. Ch-aviation data showed that the aircraft had been delivered between September 2023 and December 2023.

Aeroflot initially ordered the six aircraft, but due to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the consequent sanctions on Russia and its aerospace sector, the Russian flag carrier has been unable to take delivery of the A350-900s.

Becoming a world-class airline

Nevertheless, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, the carrier’s parent company, and Air India, said that with India’s passenger growth outpacing the rest of the world, the country’s improving infrastructure and its young population looking to travel more, there was a clear case for Air India to expand its order book further.

“These additional 100 Airbus aircraft will help to position Air India on the path to greater growth and contribute to our mission of building Air India into a world-class airline that connects India to every corner of the world.”

2023 was a monumental year for the carrier, with Air India placing orders for 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing in February. The deal with Airbus added 140 A320neo, 70 A321neo, six A350-900, and 34 A350-1000 aircraft to Air India’s future plans.

According to the February agreement, Boeing will deliver up to 190 Boeing 737 MAX, 20 787, and ten 777X, with a further 50 737 MAX and 20 787 options, to the Indian carrier. Both Airbus and Boeing orders were announced in February 2023. Air India firmed both orders during the Paris Air Show in June 2023.

Guillaume Faury, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Airbus, added that the plane maker was glad that Air India had renewed its trust in the company with this additional order for its aircraft.

“Through this continued partnership, we are committed to supporting the success of Air India’s “Vihaan.AI” transformation plan under Tata’s vision and leadership.”

Competing with IndiGo

While IndiGo has slowly ventured away from its low-cost carrier roots with the introduction of a business class product on select routes between key Indian cities, as well as BlueChip, its frequent flyer program, the airline has also ordered 30 A350-900s to begin long-haul flights, with both moves marking IndiGo stepping into Air India’s territory. (It has been damp leasing two Boeing 777-300ERs from Turkish Airlines.)

However, IndiGo has been dominating the Indian market among domestic carriers. Data from the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) showed that in October, IndIGo had a market share of 63.3%, while Air India and Vistara, which finalized their merger on November 12, had a combined market share of 28.5%.