Air India is about to announce one of the largest aircraft orders in aviation history. According to the Archyde.com agency, the former public Indian company, owned for a year by the Tata group, one of the most powerful Indian conglomerates, has finalized the purchase of a colossal order of around 500 aircraft, d a value exceeding 100 billion dollars at list price (93.5 billion euros). The announcement could take place early next week at the Aero India show.
In detail, Archyde.com mentions 470 aircraft, 250 for Airbus and 220 for Boeing, including 400 medium-haul type A320 NEO and 737 MAX which will allow it to fight against the low-cost company Indigo, and 70 long-haul wide-body aircraft A350, 787 and 777 type. In detail, Air India would have decided for 210 Airbus A320 Neo and 40 A350 and 190 MAX, 20 B787 and 10 very large 777X aircraft. For now, we do not know if this order is firm or if it includes options.
Many growth levers
In addition to Indigo on the domestic market, the arrival of these new planes will allow it to compete with foreign companies, particularly from the Gulf such as Emirates. Very powerful in India, the Dubai company is often nicknamed the Indian national company.
This gigantic order reflects not only the strong rebound in traffic since the health crisis, but also the rise of India. The demographic weight of the country, whose population will exceed that of China this year, the increase in the middle class and the size of the country (and the poor ground infrastructure) are all levers for the growth of Indian air traffic.
(with Archyde.com)
« Pipigate » chez Air India
A former senior executive at US bank Wells Fargo was released on bail in late January after spending several weeks in jail for allegedly urinating on his neighbor on an Air India flight. Shankart Mishra, then vice president of the banking giant for its activities in India, was arrested in January. The 34-year-old man is accused of having urinated, while he was drunk, on a 72-year-old woman installed in business class during a flight on November 26 between New York and New Delhi. This incident was dubbed “pipigate” by local media.
Shankart Mishra has denied the charges against him and his lawyer told the court that the woman, an Indian classical dancer, had actually urinated on herself. The respondent was banned from flying on Air India for four months and was immediately sacked by Wells Fargo when the allegations against him became public. The Indian company Air India was fined 37,000 dollars (about 34,000 euros) for the management of this incident. India’s civil aviation regulator has also imposed a fine of 300,000 rupees (about 3,400 euros) on Air India’s director of in-flight services. The pilot of the flight meanwhile saw his license suspended for three months for having “failed in his duty” to ensure safety and discipline in the aircraft. The company has also changed its in-flight alcohol distribution policy and staff will now be trained to spot suspicious behavior. According to the company, “in the opinion of the crew, the alleged perpetrator at no time represented a risk to the safety of the flight”. (AFP)