The purchase comprises 20 737-8 aircraft and 10 737-10 aircraft. Boeing and Air India confirmed that the airline finalised the incremental purchase of the 737-8s during January, while the order for the 737-10s had previously appeared as unidentified on Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries website. Both transactions exercised existing options.

 

With this latest order, Air India’s Boeing order book now approaches 200 aircraft across the manufacturer’s single-aisle and widebody families.

 

According to Air India, the additional aircraft form part of a broader fleet strategy intended to support steady deliveries and fleet upgrades over the coming years. Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India, said the order builds on the airline’s 2023 commitments and subsequent additions as it positions itself for long-term growth.

 

The airline plans to operate the new 737-8 aircraft on high-frequency domestic and short-haul regional routes, taking advantage of their dispatch reliability, fuel efficiency and range flexibility. The larger 737-10 is expected to be deployed to maintain operational commonality within the fleet while carrying more passengers at the lowest cost per seat among single-aisle aircraft.

 

From Boeing’s perspective, the order reflects the performance of Air India’s existing 737-8 fleet as the carrier expands connectivity across India and South Asia. Paul Righi, Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing for Eurasia, India and South Asia at Boeing, said the company values Air India’s confidence in both the 737-8 and 737-10 as central elements of its single-aisle growth strategy.

 

As fleet expansion continues, Boeing’s Commercial Market Outlook projects that the Indian and South Asian region will require nearly 3,300 new aircraft over the next two decades, with around 90 per cent expected to be single-aisle types such as the 737 MAX.