Biggest Aviation Deal: Air India To Buy 500 Jets From Airbus, Boeing

Air India will get 250 Airbus planes. The company plans to acquire 220 ‘Boeing aircrafts’, 190 ‘737 MAX narrowbody jets’, 20 ‘787 wide-bodies’ and ‘10 777Xs’.

According to a Reuters story, Air India, a company owned by the Tata Group, has inked contracts with Airbus SE and Boeing Co. for roughly 500 new aircraft, totaling more than $100 billion at list prices. 

Given that Air India is getting ready to overhaul itself under the Tata Group with a fleet that uses less fuel, this could be the biggest single order ever placed by any airline.

It was first reported in December that the agreement, which divided equally between France’s Airbus and the United States’ Boeing, might ultimately be made public next week.

250 Airbus aircraft will be delivered to Air India: 210 single-aisle A320neos and 40 widebody A350s. It intends to purchase 220 Boeing aircraft: 190 737 MAX narrowbody aircraft, 20 787 wide-body aircraft, and 10 777X aircraft.

According to the article, the contract was signed on February 10 by Airbus and Air India. 

On January 27, the day it marked the first anniversary of recovering control of the former national airline, the carrier finalized the agreement with Boeing.

One of the most well-known privatization transactions of the Center under PM Narendra Modi is the acquisition of Air India by the Tata Group last year. 

In response to a deposit price of Rs 12,906 crore, Tata Group submitted a winning proposal of ₹ 18,000 crore as the airline’s enterprise value. The proposal included a payment of ₹ 2,700 crore and the retention of a ₹ 15,300 crore debt. 

The deal represented a bold attempt to turn around the financially troubled, heavily indebted carrier that had been struggling for years.

According to a source from last week, Air India plans to restructure its current debt over the short term by borrowing ₹ 18,000 crore from the State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB). 

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The loans would take the shape of 12-month loans. Later this year, the Tata Group also intends to raise longer-term financing.

The debt facility that the corporation accessed after buying the airline is continued via these loans. The business chose to extend the current borrowing agreement for an additional year. 

They’ll probably come up with another long-term plan. Loan rates are higher than they were last year.