Air India finalises 'huge financing deal' for acquiring new fleet: CEO

PTI

New Delhi, June 9

Air India has put together a ‘huge financing deal’ related to its new fleet in a remarkably quick time, according to its chief Campbell Wilson.

On February 14, Air India announced a historic order for buying 470 aircraft, including 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. Besides, there is an option to buy another 370 planes from the two plane makers.

Historic buyout

• On February 14, Air India announced a historic order for buying 470 aircraft, including 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing
• Besides, there is an option to buy another 370 planes from the two plane makers
• The order comprises 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777-9s wide-body aircraft as well as 210 Airbus A320/321 Neos and 190 Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle aircraft

It was also the first time in more than 17 years that Air India, which was taken over by Tata Group from the government in January last year, placed orders for new planes.

In his weekly message to the staff on Friday, Wilson said he wants to commend “the commercial, strategic procurement, finance, treasury and legal teams for successfully putting together a huge financing deal related to our new fleet in remarkably quick time...it was another historic achievement for the new Air India”. Specific details could not be immediately ascertained. Wilson, in an interview last month, said a lot of money was being invested in the airline.

“Tata Group’s Air India has invested at a list price of $70 billion for the 470 aircraft. That is with the explicit purpose of providing more services, especially international connectivity. We ultimately do that for many reasons and one reason is that we get economic returns from that investment.

“I think, if the traffic is siphoned off throughout the places, just makes it more and more difficult for us to have non-stop services and ultimately, customer loses as they will not have any option of non-stop service,” he had said.

The response was to a query related to bilateral flying rights. The order for 470 planes comprises 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777-9s wide-body aircraft as well as 210 Airbus A320/321 Neos and 190 Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle aircraft.