Air India secures India’s first Airbus A350-900

Air India has successfully acquired India’s first Airbus A350-900 aircraft through a finance lease transaction with HSBC. This is Air India’s first financing transaction from its record-setting orders for 470 aircraft. The transaction makes Air India the first scheduled carrier to have acquired an aircraft from an entity registered in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). Air India’s first A350-900 is also the first widebody aircraft to have been leased through India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

The first of Air India’s six Airbus A350-900 is expected to arrive in India by the end of this year, with the remaining aircraft scheduled for deliveries through March 2024. In addition to the six Airbus A350-900 aircraft, Air India’s firm orders for 470 new aircraft include 34 A350-1000, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 10 Boeing 777X widebody aircraft, as well as 140 Airbus A320neo, 70 Airbus A321neo and 190 Boeing 737MAX narrowbody aircraft.

Air India had signed purchase agreements to acquire these aircraft with Airbus and Boeing on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show held in June 2023.