With 113 aircraft currently listed as being part of the Air India fleet, the Indian flag carrier has been working hard to modernize its collection of jets and become a more efficient airline. In recent years, Air India has been continuing to take delivery of new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, as well as A320neos from Airbus. On the other side of fleet management, the Star Alliance member has decided to officially close the books on over 50 years of Boeing 747 operations. Most recently, the carrier announced a pair of massive orders with Airbus and Boeing – orders that will hopefully assist in securing the airline’s dominance in the highly-competitive Indian air travel sector.
The Air India mainline fleet at a glance
Consisting of over 100 aircraft, the Air India fleet is as follows:
- A319-100: 18
- A320-200: 9
- A320neo: 27
- A321-200: 14
- 777-200LR: 5
- 777-300ER: 13
- 787-8: 27
In the process of merging
It was on January 27th, 2022 that Tata Sons, via its fully owned subsidiary, Talace, announced that it had acquired a 100% stake in Air India. At the time of this announcement, it was stated that Vistara would be merged with Air India once regulatory approval was achieved.
As we alluded to earlier, an airline merger like Vistara and Air India will be subject to approval from foreign competition and anti-trust regulators as well. Airlines decide which countries to approach depending on their presence in the respective markets and, at this point in time, the owners of Air India and Vistara have identified Singapore and the EU as two jurisdictions for which they would like to secure regulatory approval. Singapore being high on the list is primarily connected with Singapore Airlines’ 25.1% stake in the merged Air India-Vistara carrier.
There are many hurdles to jump, though, while not fully guaranteed, the merger process is expected to go smoothly.
Massive fleet expansion plans
In mid-February, Air India announced the most extensive fleet replacement and modernization program ever seen with two massive orders. Split 50/50 (in terms of transactional value) between Airbus and Boeing, each order boosts the planemakers’ order books to the tune of $34 billion based on current market values.
Air India’s Airbus order will add 210 A320neo family narrowbodies for its short and medium-haul operations, with 40 A350s for higher-capacity and long-haul services. More specifically, the order breaks down to 70 A321neos and 140 A320neos, plus six A350-900s and an impressive 34 A350-1000s. The A350 order represents the re-introduction of Airbus widebodies into the Air India fleet. The airline previously operated A300s, A310s, and A330s but these days seems to prefer operating an all-Boeing widebody fleet.
And speaking of Boeing, Air India’s deal with the American planemaker is for 220 new aircraft. This order is split between 190 Boeing 737 MAX, 20 Boeing 787s, and 10 new 777X airplanes. While we know the carrier will want the mid-size 787-9 variant of Dreamliners, the deal fails to specify which MAX variants the airline will pursue. With this deal, Air India becomes the 11th named customer for the 777X, following in the footsteps of Emirates, ANA, British Airways, and others. Alongside the firm orders, Air India has secured options for an additional 70 airplanes, including 50 737 MAX and 20 787s.
