Air India has announced its agreement with Airbus, France, to acquire 250 aircrafts. According to Tata Sons Chairman Natrajan Chandrashekran, this is going to be the biggest deal ever.Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with French President Emmanuel Macron, among others, Chandrasekran announced the deal in a virtual meeting. He announced that Air India has signed a letter of intent with Airbus for the deal.The Tata Sons Chief said, “As part of the transaction, the airlines will buy 40 widebody A350 aircraft and 210 narrow-body planes with options to enhance the fleet order.”Developing relations between France and IndiaApplauding the Tata Sons and Airbus on successful deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it is strengthening ties between both the countries as well as the successes and aspirations of Indias civil aviation sector. ” One of the most important aspects of Indias development is our civil aviation sector,” he remarked. A key component of our national infrastructure programme is strengthening civil aviation.Prime Minister Modi mentioned in a statement that in the last eight years the number of airports in India have gone up from 74 to 147. With the help of Project UDAAN, the remote areas are also being connected through the air connectivity, which is giving boost to social and economic development of the people. He also said, “India will become the third largest aviation sector.” We are planning to make it 2000 aircraft in the next 15 years.Under Make In India- Make for the Worlds Vision many new opportunities are opening up in aerospace manufacturing. He also mentioned, “Whether it is security and stability of the Indo-Pak region, global food security or health security, India and France are bringing a positive contribution together.”Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron added that France is committed to providing the best technology available to India. Air India-Airbus agreement shows that we are keen n doing more business together.According to reports, for more than 17 years, Air India has not ordered an aircraft till now. Additionally, it marks the carriers first acquisition while owned by the Tata Group.More than 17 years ago, the government owned the airline that purchased new aircraft. Its most recent purchase was a 10.8-billion-dollar contract for 111 aircraft, 68 from Boeing and 43 from Airbus. The purchase was made in 2005.When Tata Group celebrated the one-year anniversary of acquiring Air India on January 27, the airline announced it was finalising a historic acquisition of new aircraft to fuel future expansion.Air India-Boeing DealThe largest order ever placed by an Indian airline and among the largest in the world, Air India revealed on Tuesday that it had placed an order with Airbus and Boeing for 470 aircraft, including 260 widebody aircraft. The widebody aircraft ordered include 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s, and 10 Boeing 777-9s. 210 Airbus A320, 321 Neo, and 190 single-aisle Boeing 737 MAX are among the narrow-bodies.President Joe Biden informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone on Tuesday that the “landmark” agreement under which Air India will pay USD 34 billion to Boeing for 220 planes will result in the creation of up to 1 million jobs across 44 states in the United States. When the Boeing-Air India agreement was announced, President Joe Biden stated that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were eager to strengthen connections between India and the US. This declaration comes after the US-India collaboration on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) was officially launched last month.
