On January 27, 2023, the new Air India (reformed from the defunct Air India) is expected to announce major combined orders for over 500 commercial aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. According to unnamed sources, the order will include 235 Airbus A320 family aircraft and 190 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, as previously reported by Reuters news agency.
Air India is also expected to order 70 wide-body aircraft, including 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777Xs. According to industry sources, the finalization of the agreement and the organization of the delivery schedule of the aircraft will depend on the negotiations with the engine suppliers.
This is the largest commercial order for the jets since American Airlines placed 460 Airbus and Boeing jets more than a decade ago. One of the reasons for the delay in the official announcement is that January 27 will mark one year since the Tata Group regained control of Air India, which was originally founded in 1932 by JRD Tata. The current airline faced financial problems in the mid-2000s. Air India is expected to be one of the largest airlines in the world in the next 5 years.