Air India signs 470 aircraft deal with Airbus, Boeing

Tags: Economy/Finance National News

With an aim to upgrade its fleet and expand its operations, Tata-owned Air India on 14 February confirmed an agreement to buy a total of 470 wide-body and narrow-body planes from Airbus and Boeing.

An overview of the news

• Of the 470 new aircraft ordered by Air India, 250 are from Airbus and 220 from Boeing.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed confidence that India will emerge as the third largest global market in the aviation sector in the coming years.

• This deal reflects the strength of the US-India economic partnership.

• The Indian aviation sector will need more than 2,000 aircrafts in the next 15 years. 

• This historic deal shows strengthening of strategic partnership between India and France.

• This deal will help in fulfilling the growing demands of the aircrafts.

• Under the regional connectivity scheme-UDAN, the number of airports in the country has increased from 74 to 147 in the last eight years.

• Remote parts of the country are being connected by air connectivity which has helped in socio-economic development.

About UDAN scheme

• Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) was launched in 2016 as a Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

• Its objective is to provide affordable, economically viable and profitable air travel on regional routes to the common man even in small towns.