Air India's record deal for 470 planes from Airbus and Boeing has happened at a time when the carrier plans to become "a world-class proposition", in the words of N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata group, which owns the airline.
These orders - beating the American Airlines' 460-plane deal in 2011 - would modernise Air India's fleet and help it to "dramatically" expand its network, Mr Chandrasekaran said.
The troubled national carrier, which was acquired by Tatas about two years ago, has retired most of its older aircraft and launched a five-year plan to modernise its ageing fleet. The first new plane will go into service at the end of this year.
The sheer size of this new order indicates Air India's desire to reclaim its pole position in India's crowded aviation market and acquire a strategic edge to service the world, say experts.
"These orders directly synergise Air India's fleet with Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines - all part of Star Alliance, the world's largest global airline alliance," said Mark Martin, an aviation analyst. "To me it looks like a big game plan to counter the dominance of Gulf carriers, for whom Star Alliance has been an arch nemesis".
Indian travellers currently rely heavily on Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad and other Middle Eastern airlines for overseas connections to Europe, US and other parts of the world. That could change as Air India's new fleet are put into service, Mr Martin believes.
The acquisition of wide bodied aircraft like the A350s will allow Air India to penetrate markets like the US and Australia directly through non-stop flights between these destinations and India. These are lucrative routes to service the massive Indian diaspora that resides overseas.
But challenging the monopoly of the Gulf carriers will not be easy, given their "loyal base" and ability to launch pricing wars, says Ajay Awtaney, founder of LiveFromALounge.com, an India focused aviation website.
These orders - beating the American Airlines' 460-plane deal in 2011 - would modernise Air India's fleet and help it to "dramatically" expand its network, Mr Chandrasekaran said.
The troubled national carrier, which was acquired by Tatas about two years ago, has retired most of its older aircraft and launched a five-year plan to modernise its ageing fleet. The first new plane will go into service at the end of this year.
The sheer size of this new order indicates Air India's desire to reclaim its pole position in India's crowded aviation market and acquire a strategic edge to service the world, say experts.
"These orders directly synergise Air India's fleet with Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines - all part of Star Alliance, the world's largest global airline alliance," said Mark Martin, an aviation analyst. "To me it looks like a big game plan to counter the dominance of Gulf carriers, for whom Star Alliance has been an arch nemesis".
Indian travellers currently rely heavily on Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad and other Middle Eastern airlines for overseas connections to Europe, US and other parts of the world. That could change as Air India's new fleet are put into service, Mr Martin believes.
The acquisition of wide bodied aircraft like the A350s will allow Air India to penetrate markets like the US and Australia directly through non-stop flights between these destinations and India. These are lucrative routes to service the massive Indian diaspora that resides overseas.
But challenging the monopoly of the Gulf carriers will not be easy, given their "loyal base" and ability to launch pricing wars, says Ajay Awtaney, founder of LiveFromALounge.com, an India focused aviation website.
