Air India leases its first A350 aircraft via GIFT city
- The first of Air India’s six Airbus A350-900 plane is expected to arrive in India by the end of this year, with the rest of deliveries scheduled through March 2024.
New Delhi: Air India on Friday said it has acquired its first A350 aircraft in a finance lease transaction with HSBC through the Gift City. This is part of the order for 470 aircraft placed earlier this year.
This is also the first wide body aircraft to be leased through Gujarat's GIFT City, the country's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
The first of Air India’s six Airbus A350-900 plane is expected to arrive in India by the end of this year, with the rest of deliveries scheduled through March 2024.
The Tata Group-owned Air India’s firm orders for 470 aircraft include 34 A350-1000, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 10 Boeing 777X widebody aircraft, 140 Airbus A320neo, 70 Airbus A321neo, and 190 Boeing 737MAX narrowbody aircraft. The airline had signed purchase agreements to acquire these aircraft with Airbus and Boeing at Paris Air Show held in June.
Currently, Air India has a fleet of 116 planes, including 49 wide body aircraft.
Spread across 886 acre, GIFT consists of multi-service special economic zones and an exclusive domestic tariff area with tax sops for aircraft leasing entities established in the IFSC.
“This landmark transaction marks the beginning of our aircraft leasing business from GIFT IFSC, as AIFS will be the primary Air India Group entity for widebody aircraft financing, playing a pivotal role in the future aircraft financing strategy for us and our subsidiaries,” said Nipun Aggarwal, chief commercial and transformation officer, Air India.
The transaction for Air India was facilitated by AI Fleet Services Limited (AIFS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, and a GIFT IFSC-registered finance company.
“IFSCA has been working with the stakeholders to develop regulatory enablers for aircraft leasing and financing. The steps taken by Air India by establishing a finance company for the purpose of aircraft leasing and financing at IFSC will go long way in developing IFSC as a preferred destination for aircraft leasing and financing in India as well as globally," said Dipesh Shah, executive director, IFSCA.
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First Published:29 Sep 2023, 10:54 AM IST
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