Air India Ltd. is polling pilots on whether they want to be trained to fly Airbus SE A350 jets, indicating that it intends to operate the model as it looks to renew its widebody fleet under new owner Tata Group.
The airline may introduce the A350 by the first quarter of 2023, according to a letter sent to senior cockpit crew and seen by Bloomberg News. Pilots must respond to the offer by June 20, and those who accept will be ineligible for training on another aircraft type for two years, the letter said.
Air India is looking to order around 20 A350s, people familiar with the matter said. One option would be to take on jets initially destined for Russian carrier Aeroflot that Airbus can no longer deliver due to sanctions, as well as Qatar Airways planes that the airline isn’t taking due to a dispute with the manufacturer over paint quality.
A deal would be a coup for Airbus in India, the world’s fastest-growing aviation market prior to the pandemic, as the European planemaker doesn’t have a single customer there for its widebody jets. Two of its previous buyers in the country went bankrupt, while another was sold, handing a lead to Boeing Co., which has delivered 777, 787 and 747 jets to local carriers, including Air India.
Airbus has had more success selling smaller jets in India. IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., is the world’s largest customer for the 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.
