Tata group will buy 250 aircraft from France's Airbus

The Tata group will buy 250 aircraft from Airbus in the world's largest aviation deal in history. The deal includes 40 A350 wide-body long-range aircraft and 210 narrow-body ones for Air India, owned by the Tata group.

"It is a historic moment for Airbus to help script Air India's revival," Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said in a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ratan Tata, French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders.

The deal with Airbus is part of a huge order by Air India for 470 planes, which is expected to also include an order for 220 planes from Boeing.

"This contract is a milestone in the friendly relations between India and France," said Mr Macron at the conference, where Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran also participated.

PM Modi said India will become the third-largest player in the aviation sector. "India will need 2,500 aircraft in the next 15 years," he added.

The A350 family has two versions - the A350-900, and the longer fuselage A350-1000. Airbus says A350s fly efficiently on any sector from short-haul to ultra-long-haul routes up to 17,000 km, carrying 300 to 410 passengers in typical three-class configurations, and up to 480 passengers in a single-class layout.

Airbus' narrow-body aircraft include the A320 and A220 family of planes. Many airlines in India already fly the A320 family.

India is also a major purchaser of French military aircraft. India's recently bought Rafale from France's Dassault Aviation, after decades of flying the Mirage 2000 built by the same company.