Air India mulls adding 300 narrow-body airliners to fleet

The Tata Group-owned air carrier may add about 300 narrow-bodied planes to its fleet. Air India, it is reported, might buy Airbus SE A320neo family jets or Boeing Co.737 Max planes or a combination of both. The discussions are confidential.

As per some media reports, the Chief Commercial Officer of Airbus informed that Air India is ‘reorganizing’ itself under the ownership of the Tatas to regain its international market share.

Narrow-body airliners are usually more popular among global carriers. IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., is the world’s largest customer of European narrow-bodied airliners followed by Vistara, Go Airlines India Ltd., and Air Asia India Ltd. who buy these planes in chunks.

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As per some media reports, winning a narrow-body order would be a powerful welcome for Boeing aviation as the rival Airbus had been dominating the country’s sky before the pandemic.

As per a tweet by Airbus Newsroom in 2021, the aviation company foresaw a need for 39,000 new passengers and fighter aircraft by 2024.

As per some reports, earlier this week, Air India sent a directive to its pilots concerning the training for A350 aircraft. However, the Tata group has not commented on its plans.

The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners. Airbus has also launched its single-aisle jetliner family with the A320. The planes have a versatile cabin that can have a variety of seating arrangements. The A320 usually seats from 140 to 170 passengers and has a maximum capacity to accommodate as many as 180 travellers.

The 737 Max by Boeing on the other hand has seat variations between 172 (in 737 Max 7) and 230 (737 Max 10).

Nearly after 69 years, the Tata Group regained the national carrier in January 2022 after Air India’s long struggle with loss and debt.