Air India leases six A320 neo aircraft from China Development Bank Aviation

It is to boost the Tata Group-owned Air India‘s transformation journey, a statement said on Wednesday.

The leasing agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Asia Pacific 2022 conference, said the CDB Asia statement.

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

“This is an important agreement, which will help us to strengthen our fleet with state-of-the-art aircraft,” Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer of Air India, said of the agreement.

“This will boost our connectivity, especially on the short and medium-haul routes, and is an important step ahead in our transformation journey,” the statement said.

“India is an increasingly important region for CDB Aviation, being the second largest Asia Pacific market for new aircraft deliveries, with nearly 1,000 Boeing and Airbus jets in its order book,” said Peter Goodman, CDB Aviation’s Chief Commercial Officer.

He said that the company’s coomercial team is commited in its efforts across the Asia Pacific, leveraging its resources and scale to support the region’s airlines in restoring their networks and growing their fleets

“This fuel-efficient, new generation aircraft are well suited to support Air India’s fleet revitalisation initiatives, positioning the airline for sustained growth and profitability,’’ said Ryan Barrett, CDB Aviation’s Head of Asia Pacific.