As the airline strives to become a more significant player on the international stage, Air India has placed an unprecedented order for 470 new aircraft.
The airline's chairman, N Chandrasekaran, stated that it aimed to become "a world-class proposition.".
He claimed that the orders from the US-based Boeing and the European Airbus would modernize the airline's fleet and aid in its "dramatic" network expansion.
At the end of the current year, the first aircraft will enter service.
In a statement announcing the deals, Mr. Chandrasekaran stated that "Air India is on a large transformation journey.". "This order is a crucial step in helping Air India achieve its goals. to provide a premium service that caters to international travelers while maintaining an Indian heart. ".
In order to jumpstart its turnaround, Air India stated that it was looking to Boeing and Airbus for a total of 220 additional aircraft.
The orders follow the sale of the airline by the Indian government to the Tata Group, the country's largest conglomerate, less than two years after the company was founded in 1932.
The airline, which had George Harrison and The Doors as clients before being nationalized in 1953, maintained its reputation as a top-tier carrier for a very long time.
However, as competition grew in the 1990s, the company began to suffer losses following its 2007 merger with Indian Airlines, a state-owned domestic carrier.
Competitors like IndiGo, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, and other Middle Eastern airlines gained ground on the company and now handle a large portion of international travel to and from India.
According to aviation analyst Mark Martin, these orders could change that, but the airline, which bought its last aircraft almost 20 years ago, will have a difficult time quickly modernizing all of its operations, including software, maintenance, and its system for the new aircraft.
If they are successful, Mr. Martin said, "they will bring India's uniqueness to the world once more, after many years.".
An expanding middle class and a quickly expanding economy have helped India's air travel recover more quickly than many other markets.
Both Boeing and Airbus anticipate a continued increase in demand. The importance of the nation has grown both economically and strategically as Western relations with China become less certain and businesses search for new markets to fuel their expansion.
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, and Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, attended a press conference to announce the purchase of Airbus with the company.
Later, Mr. Modi claimed on Twitter that the agreements would support the aviation sector in his nation and showed how "robust" the relationship between France and India is.
Separately, US President Joe Biden applauded the "historic" Boeing order, calling it evidence of a "deepening partnership" between the two nations that would sustain more than a million jobs in the US.
Since Rolls-Royce will be providing the engines, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added that the orders would contribute to the creation of 450 jobs in his country.
In a statement, he said, "We will ensure UK businesses remain at the forefront of global growth and innovation by forging trade ties with growing economic powers like India.
