The largest aircraft order in history: 540 planes and $120 billion

Air India, an airline belonging to the Tata Group, became the protagonist of the largest aircraft order in history in 2023.

February 2023 went down in history in the aeronautical sector, after the agreement that Air India reached with Airbus and Boeing, in which it will buy 250 and 290 aircraft, respectively.

Without official figures, specialized media such as Bloomberg estimate the agreement had a cost of more than 120 billion dollars.

Photo: Airbus

What is known, through a statement released by Air India, is that all the aircraft purchased by the company have the latest technological advances and offer cutting edge efficiency and sustainability.

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and director of Airbus International, assured that the A320 and A350 models are "an effective and versatile resource to continue democratizing and decarbonizing the country's air transport."

Photo: Air India

Air India's objective is clear, as confirmed in their statement: to boost their operations, both nationally and internationally, in the short, medium and long term, since the delivery of aircraft aims to last for at least a decade.

Of course, the first Airbus units were to be delivered, according to Air India forecasts, at the end of 2023. That is, the expansion will be almost immediate.

From Air India they are clear about what they want: "to modernize and expand the fleet to make it a larger and first-class airline, to meet the growing demand for travel in the region," they point out in a statement.

The first agreement announced was that of Airbus. Among the 250 requested aircraft are 140 A320neo narrow-body single-aisle aircraft and 70 A321neo aircraft (pictured).

Photo: Airbus

To these are added 34 A350-100 widebody aircraft and another six A350-900 aircraft (In the photo), a long-range aircraft that will debut in the Indian market to "mark a new era in the country", according to the Airbus statement.

Photo: Airbus

For its part, Boeing could also manufacture 290 low-consumption aircraft for the Indian airline.

As Air India has specified, there will be 190 737 MAX aircraft (in the photo), another 20 787 Dreamliner aircraft and 10 more 777X aircraft. That is, a total of 220 units.

Photo: Boeing

In addition, 70 more vehicles could be added, which would be an additional 50 Boeing 737 MAX and another 20 787-9 aircraft (in the photo).

Photo: Boeing

The agreement with Boeing included a comprehensive suite of aviation services, with an eye to making this massive growth sustainable, both domestically and internationally.

Photo: Boeing

After almost 90 years of collaboration between Air India and Boeing, this was the largest order the company has received in South Asia.

India is the world's third largest air transport market and it is expected that, in the next 20 years, its growth rate will be 6.6% on average per year, double that of the rest of the world.

According to expert forecasts, India is about to become the most populous country in the world (within a few years it will overtake China, whose demographics are declining) and the Indian economy aims to be the fastest growing of the G20.

It is expected that the country's thriving middle class will significantly increase their air travel. Obviously, the largest aircraft order in history, has a methodical analysis behind its multimillion-dollar investment.