Air India placed an order for 190 Boeing 737 Max narrow-body planes, including 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777X on Friday, according to a report by Reuters quoting an industry source. This is half of the order for 495 jets, which is worth billions of dollars, the report stated.
The order coincides with the one year anniversary of Tata Group's acquisition of Air India from the government, and it also comes at a time when the travel industry is also seeing a strong surge post the COVID-19 pandemic.
This deal is part of an effort by the Tata Group to make the airline more competitive in the current tough aviation market.
According to the source as reported by Reuters, the other half of the order, including close to 235 Airbus single-aisle jets and around 40 Airbus A350 widebody aircraft, is expected to be completed over the coming days.
Earlier, the airline's new chief executive, Campbell Wilson, had said that the aim is to corner over 30 per cent of the domestic air travel market in the next five years and narrow the gap with market leader IndiGo. The airline also wants to increase its share of international travel.
Message by chief executive Campbell Wilson
With Tata Group completing the first year of taking over Air India, Wilson, in a message to the employees, called the carrier's progress as remarkable. He also acknowledged that there will be many challenges along the way, but more than the success it is how the company responds to the lapses that will set them apart and define them. He also thanked the employees for "coming together behind the mission of national importance so quickly and constructively."
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