Air India has finished the acquisition of its first A350-900
aircraft by way of a finance lease transaction with HSBC through the GIFT City,
said the airline company.
This is also the first wide body aircraft to be leased through the
GIFT City, the country’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
In a release, the airline said the transaction was facilitated by
its wholly-owned subsidiary AI Fleet Services Ltd (AIFS) and is also the first
financing transaction from the orders for 470 aircraft that were made earlier
this year.
Tata Group-owned Air India, which has embarked on an ambitious
transformation plan, expects the first A350-900 aircraft to arrive in India by
the end of this year.
According to the release, the airline has successfully acquired
India’s first Airbus A350-900 aircraft through a finance lease transaction with
HSBC.
“This landmark transaction marks the beginning of our aircraft
leasing business from GIFT IFSC, as AIFS will be the primary Air India Group
entity for wide body aircraft financing, playing a pivotal role in the future
aircraft financing strategy for us and our subsidiaries,” said Air India’s
Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer Nipun Aggarwal.
International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)
Executive Director Dipesh Shah said it has been working with the stakeholders
to develop regulatory enablers for aircraft leasing and financing.
“The steps taken by Air India by establishing a finance company for
the purpose of aircraft leasing and financing at IFSC will go a long way in
developing IFSC as a preferred destination for aircraft leasing and financing
in India as well as globally,” he added.
The airline has ordered six A350-900 planes and five of them are
scheduled for delivery through March 2024. Apart from these, the airline’s firm
orders for 470 new aircraft include 34 A350-1000s, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners,
10 Boeing 777Xs, 140 A320 neos, 70 A321 neos and 190 Boeing 737MAXs.
Air India signed purchase agreements to acquire these aircraft with
Airbus and Boeing in June this year.
Currently, Air India has a fleet of 116 planes, including 49 wide
body aircraft. The total includes 27 B787-8s, 14 B777-300s, 8 B777-200LRs, 14
A319s, 36 A320 neos, 13 A321 ceos and 4 A321 neos.
Meanwhile, Tata Group is in the process of consolidating its
airline business as part of which AIX Connect is getting merged with Air India
Express and Vistara will be merged with Air India. Vistara is a joint venture
between Tatas and Singapore Airlines, which holds a 49 per cent stake in the
carrier.
PTI
