Air India, the erstwhile national air carrier will soon receive its first Airbus A321 Neo aircraft fitted with CFM LEAP 1A engines. The Tata Group-owned airline will receive the first aircraft of its type as the aircraft has taken off from Hamburg, Germany on its way to India. Air India in a tweet said, “All set to welcome the newest entrant to our AI family – the Airbus A321 Neo (VT-RTD). It flew in from Hamburg and we can’t wait to see it land here.” Can! This is the first A321 Neo (CFM Leap 1A engine-powered) type aircraft to be inducted by AI.”
The narrow-body aircraft will be deployed on domestic routes and will join the existing fleet of Airbus A320, A320neo and A321neo from the home of the European planemaker. Air India and Airbus recently signed an order for around 250 aircraft, and the deal is expected to be completed by 2030. Air India will source both narrow and wide body aircraft from Airbus.
#FlyAI: We are all set to welcome the newest entrant to our AI family – the Airbus A321 Neo (VT-RTD). It hails from Hamburg and we can’t wait to see it land here!
It is the first A321 Neo (powered by CFM Leap 1A engines) variant aircraft to be inducted by AI.photo by 3 @flightradar24 pic.twitter.com/a23l4iPOAi
– Air India (@airindiain) March 25, 2023
Air India, previously owned by the government, had not bought any new aircraft for more than 16 years. It made its last aircraft purchase in 2005 and bought 111 aircraft – 68 with Boeing and the remaining 43 with Airbus – and the deal was worth USD 10.8 billion. The new deal includes 210 narrow-body and 40 wide-body Airbus A350s aircraft.
In addition, Air India also placed an order with Boeing for 220 aircraft, which included both widebody and narrowbody variants. This effectively takes the total order book to 470 units, and 370 more aircraft can be bought as an option. The total order value of Airbus and Boeing aircraft is $68 billion, the highest for any aircraft manufacturer globally.
