‘Air India’s Mammoth Order For Passenger Jets Is A Huge Strategic Signal’

NEW DELHI: Air India’s order for nearly 500 passenger jets from Airbus and Boeing, suggests a determined effort by the former to regain the space it enjoyed in international travel before being nationalised. In this conversion on The Gist, Amit Paranjpe, Pune based tech entrepreneur and aerospace watcher, argues that the size of the mammoth order is unprecedented and conveys confidence in the fundamentals underlying India’s aviation market. India’s domestic market is already rated the world’s third largest, and still growing. But it is in the international space that Air India has set its sights on. There was a time when the airline was the toast of world travellers, but the dead hand of government reduced it to another red tape ridden department. Today, Gulf carriers like Etihad fly a huge chunk of international travellers from India. Air India needs to measure up to their standards if it has any hope of competing. The order is perhaps the world’s biggest today, and theoretically gives this country huge leverage in terms of building a domestic aerospace industry. But the reverse is also true as Boeing and Airbus are the only big passenger airline makers. So it remains to be seen how India is able to leverage its position. Tune in for more in this conversation with Amit Paranjpe.