The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) pipeline has received another boost with Air India announcing orders amounting to 470 new jets split between the American aerospace engineer and Europe’s Airbus.
Air India has ordered some 220 new Boeing aircraft, for a total contract value of around US$34bn.
It's among Boeing’s largest deals of all time (second largest by volume, and third by value) and comes as industry watchers are keenly looking for further evidence that air travel is in recovery mode following the years lost to the pandemic.
According to Boeing, the orders will support 1mln American jobs across 44 states.
"Air India's selection of Boeing's family of passenger jets shows their confidence in our products and services in the world's fastest-growing aviation market, and their decision will support engineering and manufacturing jobs at Boeing factories in Washington state, South Carolina and across our supply base," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Stan Deal.
"With the industry-leading fuel efficiency of the 737 MAX, 787 Dreamliner and 777X, Air India is well positioned to achieve its expansion plans and become a world-class global airline with an Indian heart."
Campbell Wilson, Air India chief executive, meanwhile, said the Boeing agreement was a core element of the airline’s comprehensive transformation and growth strategy.
“These new airplanes will enable us to dramatically expand our network, both domestically and internationally, and will come with a completely new, world-class onboard product enabling passengers to travel in the highest levels of comfort and safety.
“With this order, we are delighted to take our long relationship with Boeing to a new level."
Air India, now controlled by the Tata family following its acquisition from the state in 2022, made the large order as it seeks to grow aggressively in the coming years as it expects India to represent the third-largest market in the world for air travel.
By its estimates, India will require some 2,000 aircraft over the coming 15 years.
As well as the 220 Boeing aircraft it has ordered some 250 Airbus planes to be manufactured in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Boeing, in a separate statement, reported that it had delivered 38 aircraft in January marking a slight increase from 35 deliveries for the same month a year ago.
It outpaced rival airbus by some 20 aircraft, though Boeing noted that the pace of delivery typically varies from month to month.
Boeing noted that it received a total of 55 aircraft orders in the month but had cancellations against 39 aircraft orders. Customers adding to the order book included the US Air Force, Tui Travel, Japan’s Skymark, and Atlas Air.