On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden, French President Emanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hailed the ‘historic’ Air India deals with Boeing, Airbus and Rolls Royce. As per the multi-billion-dollar deal, Air India will be buying 250 passenger aircraft from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. The airline has signed letters of intent with Airbus and Boeing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President Biden over a phone call as the two leaders welcomed the landmark agreement that will ‘help create opportunities’ in both countries.
President Biden in a statement said the United States can and will lead the world in manufacturing. President Biden highlighted how the deal will support over one million American jobs across 44 states and assist Air India in meeting the country’s rising demand for air transportation adding that this deal reflects the strength of the economic partnership between the two countries. Read full statement here…
On February 14, Air India, India’s flagship carrier and part of the Tata Sons conglomerate, announced that it had signed letters of intent with Airbus and Boeing to acquire both widebody and single-aisle aircraft.
According to an official release, the order comprises 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s, and 10 Boeing 777-9s widebody aircraft, as well as 210 Airbus A320/321 Neos and 190 Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle aircraft. The A350 aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce engines and the B777/787s by engines from GE Aerospace. Engines from CFM International will power all single-aisle aircraft.
The first of the new aircraft will enter service in late-2023, with the bulk to arrive from mid-2025 onwards. In the interim, Air India has already started taking delivery of 11 leased B777 and 25 A320 aircraft to accelerate its fleet and network expansion.
Source: PTI
