New Delhi: The Tata Group has decided to buy 250 aircraft from Airbus and the deal includes 40 Airbus A250 wide-body long-range aircraft and 210 narrow-body ones.
It is the biggest aviation deal in the history of the world. Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said it is a historic moment for Airbus to help script Air India's revival. Air India is also planning to buy 220 planes from Boeing. The deal with Airbus is expected to be over $100 billion.
Faury shared the news in a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, head of the group Rata Tata, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Jyotiraditya Scindia and Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran were also part of the meeting.
PM Modi said India will become the third-largest player in the aviation sector in the next 15 years and will need 2,500 aircraft for that. French leader Macron said this "contract is a milestone in the friendly relations between India and France," reported NDTV.
Air India is undergoing a revival and last month committed $400 million to refurbish the interiors of its entire wide-body fleet. The company is incorporating the latest generation seats and best-in-class flight entertainment systems.
A350s fly on any sector from short-haul to ultra-long-haul routes up to around 18,000 kilometres. It can carry 300-410 passengers in a three-class configuration and up to 480 in a single-class layout. It also has two variants -- the A350-900 typically carries 300 to 350 passengers over a 15,000-kilometre range; the longer A350-1000 accommodates 350 to 410 passengers.