Air India in talks for major new narrow-body jet order
Getting new planes is crucial for Air India, which has suffered from years of under-investment under government ownership. (AP pic)
NEW DELHI : Tata Group's Air India is in talks with Airbus and Boeing for a major new aircraft order, including some 200 extra single-aisle planes, topping up a mammoth deal in 2023 as the former state carrier pursues a multi-billion-dollar revamp, industry sources said.
The order discussions, which two of the sources said could involve hundreds of airplanes in total spread across various sizes, expand on previously reported discussions for a further batch of large wide-body aircraft, they told Reuters.
'In those talks, Boeing is edging forward as the front-runner to sell more of its 777X jets,' two of the sources said.
Air India, Boeing and Airbus all declined to comment.
Word of a potential new blockbuster order from India's flag carrier emerged as global airline bosses gathered in the world's fastest-growing aviation market for a Delhi industry summit to be addressed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.
Air India placed a then-record order for 470 planes from both suppliers in 2023 and another 100 Airbus jets last year.
The back-to-back plane orders come at a time when aircraft manufacturers are scrambling with supply chain issues leading to severe delays in aircraft delivery and a looming jet shortage.
Getting new planes is crucial for Air India, which has suffered from years of under-investment under government ownership and is now undertaking an ambitious modernisation plan to recapture market share lost to global rivals.
One of the sources said the potential new narrow-body jet order provisionally involved 200 aircraft, while two others estimated the volume in the hundreds.
The timing of any deal was not immediately clear and one source said pricing could be a stumbling block as Air India seeks to emulate deals by India's largest carrier IndiGo, which announced new partnerships and a top-up Airbus order yesterday.
Multi-billion-dollar aircraft orders typically take months of closely held talks to negotiate, with any Boeing and Airbus components usually being announced separately.
India's aviation market is expanding at some 7% a year, according to Airbus forecasts.
However, analysts say its growth remains hampered by weak infrastructure, especially as it looks to connect hinterlands to bigger cities.
On the eve of the airline meeting in the Indian capital, the International Air Transport Association of 300 global carriers said the country's airlines were poised to demonstrate continued rapid growth, clouded by expensive fuel costs and high taxes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Malay Mail
South Korea's president Lee seeks quick tariff resolution in first call with Trump
SEOUL, June 7 — US President Donald Trump and South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung agreed to work toward a swift tariff deal in their first phone call since Lee was elected this week, Lee's office said yesterday. Trump has imposed tariffs on South Korea, a long time ally with which it has a bilateral free trade deal, and pressed it to pay more for the 28,500 US troops stationed there. Separately, Trump allies have aired concerns about Lee's more conciliatory stance towards China, Washington's main geopolitical rival. Lee, a liberal, was elected on June 3 after former conservative leader, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached and ousted. The future of South Korea's export-oriented economy may hinge on what kind of deal Lee can strike with Trump, with all of his country's key sectors from chips to autos and shipbuilding heavily exposed to global trade. His term began on Wednesday. 'The two presidents agreed to make an effort to reach a satisfactory agreement on tariff consultations as soon as possible that both countries can be satisfied with,' Lee's office said in a statement. 'To this end, they decided to encourage working-level negotiations to yield tangible results.' Trump invited Lee to a summit in the US and they plan to meet soon, according to a White House official. Analysts say the first opportunity for the two to meet could be at a G7 summit in Canada in mid-June. Lee's office said the two leaders also discussed the assassination attempts they both experienced last year as well as their enthusiasm for golf. Lee underwent surgery after he was stabbed in the neck by a man in January last year, while Trump was wounded in the ear by a bullet fired by a would-be assassin in July. South Korea, a major US ally and one of the first countries after Japan to engage with Washington on trade talks, agreed in late April to craft a 'July package' scrapping levies before the 90-day pause on Trump's reciprocal tariffs is lifted, but progress was disrupted by the change of governments in Seoul. Lee said on the eve of the elections that 'the most pressing matter is trade negotiations with the United States.' Lee's camp has said, however, that they intend to seek more time to negotiate on trade with Trump. While reiterating the importance of the US-South Korea alliance, Lee has also expressed more conciliatory plans for ties with China and North Korea, singling out the importance of China as a major trading partner while indicating a reluctance to take a firm stance on security tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Political analysts say that while Trump and Lee may share a desire to try to re-engage with North Korea, Lee's stance on China could cause friction with the US. A White House official said this week that South Korea's election was fair, but expressed concern about Chinese interference in what analysts said may have been a cautionary message to Lee. Speaking in Singapore last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said many countries were tempted by the idea of seeking economic cooperation with China and defense cooperation with the United States, and warned that such entanglement complicated defense cooperation. — Reuters
Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Ancom Nylex moves to take full control of delisted Nylex through capital reduction plan
KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — Ancom Nylex Bhd is seeking to take full ownership of its former subsidiary, Nylex (M) Bhd, following the latter's delisting from Bursa Malaysia in March this year. According to The Edge, the proposal involves a selective capital reduction and repayment exercise, with entitled shareholders set to receive a total capital repayment of RM5.3 million, or 5.1 sen per share, in cash. The exercise is to be carried out by Ancom Nylex and its wholly owned unit, Rhodemark Development Sdn Bhd. The two entities, which currently control 42.21 per cent of Nylex, will become the sole shareholders upon completing the plan. The offer price of 5.1 sen per share for the remaining 103.89 million shares, representing a 57.79 per cent stake, is based on Nylex's net assets of RM16.96 million, minus deferred tax assets of RM7.79 million, divided by its share base of 179.79 million shares. According to the report, in a letter of offer issued yesterday, Ancom Nylex and Rhodemark said the proposed capital reduction exercise would be funded through Nylex's internal funds. Several persons acting in concert (PACs), who collectively own a 0.33 per cent stake in Nylex, are also participating as entitled shareholders. The PACs include Datuk Siew Ka Wei and his family, Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun, Low Huoi Seong, Rizainal Mustaffa, and Asmariah Ismail. Siew, who serves as Nylex's group managing director and is also the executive vice chairman of Ancom Nylex, is among its major shareholders. Ancom Nylex and Rhodemark explained that consolidating full control of Nylex would provide them with greater flexibility in determining the company's business direction, The Edge reported. They also noted that the plan offers entitled shareholders a timely opportunity to realise their investments. As of the end of May, Nylex had 12,145 shareholders. Nylex was delisted on March 11 after failing to secure an extension to submit its regularisation plan. It had been classified as a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company following the divestment of all its assets and liabilities to Ancom Nylex, then known as Ancom Bhd, in January 2022. The RM179.3 million deal was a mix of cash and shares. Shares in Ancom Nylex closed at 95 sen yesterday, up half a sen or 0.53 per cent, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM1.11 billion.
Free Malaysia Today
5 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Stanley Thai's wife appeals order blocking Supermax Holdings winding-up
Married in 1987, Supermax co-founders Stanley Thai and Tan Bee Geok are in the midst of divorce proceedings. KUALA LUMPUR : Stanley Thai's estranged wife has appealed a High Court ruling that bars her from pursuing a winding-up petition against Supermax Holdings Sdn Bhd until their divorce proceedings are resolved. FMT understands Tan Bee Geok disagrees with the reasons given by Justice Evrol Mariette Peters in a written judgment handed down last week. Peters had on May 31 issued an order restraining Tan from pursuing the winding-up of Supermax Holdings – a company she jointly owns with Thai – until their divorce proceedings are fully resolved. In her judgment, the judge acknowledged that the family court does not generally have jurisdiction to intervene in matters that fall exclusively under the purview of the winding-up court. 'These are matters expressly governed by the Companies Act 2016 and fall within the supervisory jurisdiction of the commercial or insolvency courts, specifically designated to oversee winding-up proceedings,' she said. However, the judge said the limitation on subject-matter jurisdiction did not exclude the family court from exercising its authority, particularly where the parties have voluntarily submitted to its jurisdiction. 'The authority of the family court in the present case arose not from an intrusion into the winding-up court's domain, but over the parties' conduct in the matrimonial dispute before it,' Peters said. She added that the family court was in this case acting as a court of equity to ensure that the parties did not undermine or frustrate the objectives of matrimonial proceedings – particularly in cases involving financial remedies, asset division or preservation orders – by taking unilateral steps in parallel forums. 'This exercise of jurisdiction is consistent with the family court's mandate to regulate the conduct of parties before it, and to ensure that the integrity of its orders and processes is maintained,' she said. Married in 1987, Tan and Thai have endured a rocky marriage. In April 2022, Tan petitioned for judicial separation from her businessman husband. In her petition, she sought a division of matrimonial assets, including shares in Supermax, and early last year secured an injunction restraining Thai from dealing with them. In April last year Thai filed a divorce petition, and, in August, Tan responded with a cross-petition, again praying for the division of assets, including the Supermax shares. By doing so, Peters said Tan had expressly invited the family court to assume jurisdiction over, and determine, the appropriate division or disposition of those shares. The judge also said it was inherently inconsistent and inequitable for Tan to now pursue the winding-up petition in another court when she had earlier sought judicial intervention to preserve the status quo. 'Her current course of action undermined the integrity of the judicial process and suggested a tactical shift that was both disingenuous and abusive of the court's process,' she said. Peters said the inference was that the winding-up petition was filed to prevent the family court from potentially adjusting Tan's shareholding to her detriment. The judge said Tan's petition to wind up Supermax was also an attempt to interfere with the family court's division of matrimonial assets, thus constituting an abuse of process. She said this was especially so since Supermax's assets were liable to be sold off or liquidated – possibly below their true market value – if the company was wound up, particularly if the liquidator was looking to settle its debts swiftly. 'This process could significantly reduce the overall value of Supermax and consequently, diminish the total pool of matrimonial assets available for division between the parties in the context of a divorce,' she added. Peters said Tan's conduct in attempting to wind up Supermax was indicative that there was a real and substantial risk that she would continue in her attempt to dissipate the other matrimonial assets that have been prayed for in the divorce petition and judicial separation. Accordingly, the judge inserted an order restraining the dissipation of assets on identical terms to one issued against Thai in January last year. 'In my view, the principle of fairness requires that the clause in the court order be applied consistently across both the judicial separation and divorce petitions. 'As the saying goes, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Fairness demands that the same rules apply equally to both parties to ensure parity in legal obligations and treatment,' she said.
