Air India said to consider order for 300 narrow-body planes: Report

The carrier is mulling an order of as many as 300 Airbus SE A320neo family jets or Boeing Co. 737 Max planes or a mix of both, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are confidential.

Air India Ltd. is considering a large order for narrow-body jets, according to people familiar with the matter, as the airline looks to overhaul its fleet under new ownership.The carrier is mulling an order of as many as 300 Airbus SE A320neo family jets or Boeing Co. 737 Max planes or a mix of both, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are confidential. Production and delivery of an order that size would likely take years or even decades. Representatives for Air India and Boeing declined to comment. “We are always in contact with existing and potential customers and the nature of any discussions — whether underway or not — are confidential,” an Airbus representative said.Tata Group, which now owns Air India, is looking to overhaul the former state-owned carrier and is also close to an order for around 20 Airbus A350 long-range jets, Bloomberg News reported this month. Winning a narrowbody order in India would be a coup for Boeing, as Airbus has had more success selling smaller jets in the country. IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., is the world’s largest customer for the European manufacturer’s best-selling narrowbodies, ordering more than 700, and others including Vistara, Go Airlines India Ltd. and AirAsia India Ltd. fly planes from the same family.

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