Air India will purchase 220 planes from Boeing for $34 billion, with an option to buy 70 more aircraft that could take the total transaction value to $45.9 billion, a deal that US President Joe Biden described as a "historic agreement". While announcing the Boeing-Air India deal on Tuesday, Biden also asserted that together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he was looking forward to deepen the ties between India and the US. As per an announcement from the White House, Boeing and Air India have reached an agreement under which the airline will purchase 190 B737 MAX, 20 B787, and 10 B777X for a total of 220 firm order valued at $34 billion at list price.
Private carrier Air India on Monday announced placing an order to purchase 100 more Airbus aircraft, comprising 10 wide-body A350 and 90 narrow-body A320 family aircraft including A321neo.
SpiceJet had bet its fortunes heavily on the new version of the 737 of which it has 13 planes in its fleet and another 193 aircraft on order
'Indian aviation is having a lesser number of aircraft.' 'Besides the Boeing 737 MAX, you have the A320Neos which Indigo is currently grappling with because of a lack of pilots.' 'This has led to cancellation (of flights) and therefore the prices of air tickets are on the higher side this season although generally in March ticket prices are on the lower side.'
In little over a year, Air India and IndiGo have announced plans to purchase up to 170 wide-body planes as they bet on ambitious expansion and efforts also continue to make India a global aviation hub. Also, the two carriers' orders usher in European aircraft maker Airbus into the country's wide-body space, which has traditionally been dominated by US major Boeing. If narrow-body aircraft orders of Air India, IndiGo and Akasa Air are added to the list, the order book is well over 1,200 planes and that too in less than 14 months or since February 2023.
IndiGo on Wednesday said it was exploring an earlier introduction of wide-body planes in its fleet to meet the growing demand for international travel. Industry sources said the airline was in talks with Norse Atlantic Airways to wet-lease six B787 planes in its fleet.
The commercial flight operations of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air will be launched in July instead of June. "As we get closer to the airline launch date, we can now confirm refined estimates on our timelines. "We expect our first aircraft delivery by early June 2022, with the intention to start commercial operations in July 2022," Vinay Dube, CEO, Akasa Air, told PTI.
'Boeing has returned some cash to the airline which will help it improve the current liquidity crisis.'
The watchdog has also asked the airlines to ensure various requirements are complied with by engineering and maintenance personnel with respect to 737 MAX planes.
India will require 1,740 planes over the next 20 years.
The trails of mega-mergers, tailwinds of expanding fleets, flights and airports will dot the fast-growing Indian aviation firmament in 2025, though the dark clouds of supply chain woes will persist longer. Also, new airline takeoffs, the future trajectory of revised norms to tackle pilot fatigue and efforts to reduce carbon emissions will be on the radar.
SpiceJet had last year announced a $4.4-bn deal for 42 Boeing 737 Max.
Or else customers will face capacity shortages and high fares.
Else customers will face capacity shortages and high fares.
Till high school, his medium of learning was Marathi. Later, he completed his doctorate under Neil Armstrong's guidance. He has travelled to close to 50 countries, sold $350 billion worth of aircraft. Anjuli Bhargava meets Boeing SVP Dinesh Keskar.
SpiceJet has been most affected by the grounding of 737 Max 8 aircraft as it has 12 of them in its fleet.
The expansion of existing airports and development of new airports will continue expeditiously, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday and emphasised that the country's aviation sector has been galvanised in the past 10 years.
The airline will induct four more Dreamliners next year to complete order of 27 of these aircraft
Eyeing potential business opportunity, Boeing Corporation is planning to approach the proposed Tata-Singapore Airlines.
With the earlier order for 55 planes and additional 100 new 737-8 MAX aircraft, the no-frills carrier now has firmed up the order for a total of 155 planes, besides purchase rights for 50 B737-8 MAX and wide body aircraft.
According to Boeing, India would need 1,940 single-aisle planes worth $220 billion and 350 wide-body aircraft valued at $100 billion.
The Boeing website lists the price of a Boeing 737-800 aircraft at $90.5 million.
New airline Akasa Air on Friday said it will launch commercial flight operations on August 7 by operating its first service on Mumbai-Ahmedabad route using Boeing 737 Max aircraft. In a statement, the carrier said it has opened ticket sales on 28 weekly flights it will be operating on Mumbai-Ahmedabad route from August 7, as well as on 28 weekly flights it will operating on Bengaluru-Kochi route from August 13. The carrier will launch commercial operations with two 737 Max aircraft. Boeing has delivered one Max plane and the second one's delivery is scheduled to take place later this month.
Akasa Air on Tuesday said it has added the 20th aircraft to its fleet that also makes the airline eligible to start international operations. The carrier, which will complete one year of operations on August 7, has also become the first airline in Asia to have the Boeing 737-8-200 variant. According to a release, the Boeing 737-8-200 aircraft aligns with Akasa Air's continued efforts to control operating costs.
New airline Akasa Air on Monday said it is on track to receive its first Boeing 737 Max plane by mid-June and launch commercial operations by July. The airline on Monday released the photographs of its first Max plane from the Boeing production facility in the USA's Portland as it gets ready for delivery. "The airline recently reaffirmed its commitment of being on track to receive its first aircraft in India by mid-June and launch commercial operations in India by July 2022," its statement mentioned.
'The funds were arranged from multiple banks at a very competitive rate and converted into dollars at the best rates.'
The Tata group-owned Air India will induct over 90 aircraft in two years as it looks to widen its footprint and grab a larger market share. The plan includes 56 planes from the mega aircraft order that the airline has now finalised with Airbus and Boeing. These will be in addition to previously announced leases of 36 planes that include Airbus A320Neo, A321Neo, and Boeing 777 aircraft.
SpiceJet will induct more Boeing 737 Max aircraft over the next few months and it hopes to start broadband internet service on its planes soon, its chairman and managing director (CMD) Ajay Singh said on Monday. The airline has a fleet of 91 aircraft, out of which 13 are Max planes and 46 are older versions of Boeing 737 aircraft, according to its website. In his email to employees on the 17th anniversary of the airline, Singh said the carrier continues to fly with the highest loads month after month and expects to soar even higher in the coming months.
Indian budget airline SpiceJet has agreed to buy around 40 Boeing 737 passenger jets worth over $4 billion at list prices as it seeks to modernize its fleet and climb out of the red, industry sources said on Tuesday.
Air India on Friday said it has completed the acquisition of its first A350-900 aircraft by way of a finance lease transaction with HSBC through the GIFT City. This is also the first wide body aircraft to be leased through the GIFT City, the country's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). In a release, the airline said the transaction was facilitated by its wholly-owned subsidiary AI Fleet Services Ltd (AIFS) and is also the first financing transaction from the orders for 470 aircraft that were made earlier this year.
Air India will require more than 6,500 pilots to operate 470 aircraft that are to be supplied by Airbus and Boeing in the coming years, according to industry sources. Seeking to expand fleet as well as operations, the airline has placed orders for acquiring a total of 840 aircraft that includes an option to buy 370 planes. This is one of the largest aircraft order by any airline. Currently, Air India has around 1,600 pilots to operate its 113 aircraft fleet and in recent times, there have been instances of ultra-long haul flights getting cancelled or delayed due to shortage of crew.
A child sitting near the window was reportedly pulled by the suction, and his shirt was torn off.
Airbus on Tuesday said it will deliver the first A350 aircraft to Air India by the end of this year and that the deal with the airline also marks the European aviation major's "emphatic return" to the wide-body segment in India, which is the fastest growing aviation market. As it looks to expand the fleet as well as operations, Tata Group-owned Air India on Tuesday announced that it will buy 250 planes from Airbus -- 210 from the A320 neo family and 40 A350. Remi Maillard, president and managing director of Airbus India and South Asia, said the company was very proud that the Tata Group has chosen A350 and A320 planes for Air India, adding that the magnitude of the order shows the appetite for growth in the Indian aviation industry, which is the fastest growing aviation market.
On Monday, the Boeing B737 Max aircraft with registration number VT-SZK operated the Mangaluru-Dubai flight, DGCA officials noted. After the aircraft landed, an engineer did a walk around inspection and found the nose wheel strut was compressed more than usual, they said.
Akasa Air said on Thursday said it has received the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from aviation regulator DGCA and will start commercial operations later this month.
SpiceJet is in talks with aircraft makers for a jet deal.
Tata Group-owned Air India has placed an order for 840 planes with Airbus and Boeing, including the option to acquire 370 aircraft, with a senior airline official on Thursday saying the order is a "landmark moment" in the Indian aviation history. The announcement by Air India's Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer Nipun Aggarwal comes a day after the airline said it has placed a firm order for 470 aircraft -- 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. In a LinkedIn post, Aggarwal said the airline is humbled by the excitement generated across the world by the airline's aircraft order.
Tata Group-owned Air India is considering buying more than 200 new planes with 70 per cent of them being narrow-bodied aircraft, aviation industry sources said on Sunday. While Air India has zeroed in on Airbus's A350 wide-bodied aircraft for the procurement, the talks with Airbus and Boeing for narrow-bodied aircraft is still on, they said. A wide-bodied plane like Airbus A350 has a bigger fuel tank that allows it to travel longer distances such as the India-US routes.
In a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, February 15, night, Nipun Aggarwal had said Air India, in addition to the order of 470 planes, had the option to purchase 370 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.
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