Air India looking to buy new widebody jets from Airbus, Boeing: Report

Tata Group-owned Air India is in talks with Boeing and Airbus for a multi-billion dollar order of widebody aircraft, newswire Reuters reported on Thursday.

The discussions are around the purchase of 30 to 40 aircraft, divided between the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X models, the report said, adding that the deal could surpass 50 jets.

A new deal for widebody jets could strengthen Air India's modernisation efforts as it looks to regain market share lost to international carriers.

This comes days after Air India CEO Campbell Wilson warned that the global aircraft shortage will continue for the next four to five years.

To expand its ageing fleet, Tata-owned Air India had placed its biggest order of 470 aircraft from French aerospace giant Airbus and U.S. aircraft maker Boeing for $70 billion. This included 250 aircraft from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. Subsequently, in December 2024, the airline signed a deal to purchase 100 more Airbus aircraft, comprising 10 widebody A350 and 90 narrowbody A320 Family aircraft, including A321neo.

As part of its turnaround strategy, Air India is retrofitting its ageing narrowbody aircraft fleet. The airline received its first retrofitted A320neo aircraft earlier this week. These are part of the 27 narrowbody aircraft inherited at the time of takeover that was elected for a complete retrofit to the new Air India standard, with new seats, carpets, curtain, cabin ambience, a three-class cabin configuration, along with a fresh coat of paint, new livery – all in the new Air India branding.

The Tata group had announced a $400 million retrofit programme to upgrade the airline’s entire fleet of legacy narrowbody and widebody aircraft. The remaining 26 A320neos will be operating on the domestic and short-haul international, alongside the 14 new A320neos that have been welcomed into the fleet recently.

The retrofit schedule will also see more legacy aircraft, including 40 widebody B787 and B777 aircraft undergo makeover with the first B787 flying out for retrofit next month.

Air India is in the midst of a major transformation since its acquisition by Tata Group three years ago. While significant progress has been made since the airline's privatisation, CEO Wilson acknowledged earlier this year that there is still much work to be done. The airline's planned overhaul encompasses all areas of its operations, including upgrades to its systems, processes, infrastructure, equipment, and workforce.

The merger of the four Tata airlines into a single full-service carrier, Air India, and a low-cost carrier, Air India Express, was finalised in late 2024. The former Vistara planes are now operating on major domestic routes and key international destinations. With these mergers and the addition of new aircraft, the group's fleet has now surpassed 300 aircraft.