Oct. 19—NEW DELHI — Air India aims to triple its fleet size in five years, chief executive Campwell Wilson told reporters on Tuesday. The expansion in fleet size can be a result of either organic or both organic and inorganic growth opportunities, Wilson added.
Air India, along with three other airlines, are currently under the Tata Sons umbrella. Air India has 113 aircraft in its fleet, AirAsia India 28 , Vistara has 53 aeroplanes, and Air India Express has 24 aircraft. This takes the fleet size of Tata group airlines to 218, which would mean that if all the airlines are merged under one brand name then Air India would need around 120 aircraft to triple its fleet size.
The airline will lease 25 Airbus narrow-body aircraft and five Boeing wide-body aircraft in the near term. The aircraft being leased include 21 Airbus A320neos, four Airbus A321neos, and five Boeing B777-200LRs. These aircraft, which will enter service from late 2022.
Separately, the airline is also in talks with aircraft and engine manufacturers to place a fresh aircraft order which would have a sizeable number of narrow-body as well as wide-body aircraft.
Earlier this week, Singapore International Airlines (SIA) said it was in talks with the Tata group to explore a potential transaction related to full-service airlines Vistara and Air India, which may include an integration of the two airlines.Currently, Tata group holds a 51% stake in Vistara, while Singapore Airlines owns 49%.
Tata Sons is working on an airline consolidation strategy to save costs, build synergies by optimising aircraft utilization and routes, and gain a larger market share to take on IndiGo, India's biggest airline, with a market share of 59%. However, a merger of Air India and Vistara may take about a year to complete.
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