Air India Confident On Funding For World's Biggest Aircraft Deal, Says CEO
NDTV
Air India has placed an order of 470 aircraft from both Boeing Co. and Airbus SE, with deliveries due to start from the end of this year.
Air India Ltd. is in talks with banks to help fund its recently announced record aircraft order, benefitting from the support of new owner Tata Sons Ltd., the carrier's chief executive officer said.
"We have the backing of Tata Sons, so there is financing available for these aircraft," CEO Campbell Wilson said in an interview with Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the CAPA India Aviation Summit in New Delhi on Monday. "We have already made some downpayments for these aircraft from our internal funds."
Air India has placed an order of 470 aircraft from both Boeing Co. and Airbus SE, with deliveries due to start from the end of this year. Discounts are common for such large purchases.
The formerly state-run carrier will use cash, shareholder equity, and sale and leaseback of aircraft to help fund the order, Wilson said last month. With the fleet expansion, Air India is seeking to take on the likes of Emirates and Qatar Airways, which dominate lucrative routes from India to the US and Europe through their hubs in Doha and Dubai.
