Air India’s jumbo Airbus order has undergone a big change
Air India formalised that order. This made IndiGo snatch that record, before it was formally created. Both events took place at the Paris Air Show in June this year.
Air India's order included a mix of Airbus and Boeing along with a mix of narrowbody and widebody. With Airbus, the order included 140 A320neo aircraft, 70 A321neo, 34 A350-1000, and six A350-900 wide-body jets. The six A350-900s were originally destined for Aeroflot and weren’t delivered after Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022.
It was largely believed that Air India has selected the A350-1000s for its need and the six A350-900s are being taken up as they are available rather quickly. Four of the six A350-900s have been delivered to Air India, though none have made it to India yet as they are currently either being painted in Air India colours or undergoing cabin refits. In a surprising development, the latest orders data released by Airbus, which covers data until the end of November, shows that Air India has rejigged its orders, moving for 14 more A350-900s than originally planned and reducing an equal number of A350-1000s.
The more surprising change has been on the narrowbody front where the airline has swapped the orders with only 70 A320neo now on order and taking the A321neo order book to 140. None of the narrowbody aircraft are yet delivered, with the current ones coming from an earlier order placed in 2022 via lessors. Typically, contracts between OEMs and airlines allow such changes in the order book.
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