Air India leases 6 Airbus planes from Chinese bank's subsidiary

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New Delhi, November 9

Air India has leased a fleet of six Airbus A320 Neo aircraft from CDB Aviation, a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co. Limited. The announcement regarding the signing of lease agreements was made by CDB Aviation on the sidelines of Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Asia Pacific 2022.

To boost connectivity

This is an important agreement, which will help us to strengthen our fleet with the state-of-the-art aircraft. This will boost our connectivity, especially on the short and medium-haul routes. Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India

The aircraft will be delivered in the second half of 2023. CDB Aviation is among the first aircraft leasing companies to secure the order of Air India’s additional A320 Neo aircraft under the recently announced multi-stage transformation plan since the purchase of the airline by the Tata group. The group aims to increase the carrier’s fleet and help it boost both domestic and international operations.

“Our commercial team is delighted to have worked closely with Air India to help solve their fleet requirements with these new Airbus narrow-body aircraft from our order book,” said Ryan Barrett, head of Asia Pacific region, CDB Aviation, in a statement.

“These fuel-efficient, new generation aircraft are well-suited to support Air India’s fleet revitalisation initiatives, positioning the airline for sustained growth and profitability,” Barret said.

Nipun Aggarwal, chief commercial officer of Air India, said, “This is an important agreement, which will help us to strengthen our fleet with the state-of-the-art aircraft. This will boost our connectivity, especially on the short and medium-haul routes, and is an important step ahead in our transformation journey.”