Air India shifts A350 order balance towards -900 variant

Air India appears to have rejigged its extensive Airbus order, splitting the A350 component equally between the -1000 variant and the smaller -900. The airline has also shuffled the single-aisle deal to place greater emphasis on the A321neo. Air India is taking 250 aircraft from Airbus as part of a 470-jet renewal which includes 220 Boeing models. It signed for 40 A350s in June, of which 34 were -1000s. Air India also agreed to pick up six A350-900s which were available for early delivery, having originally been allocated to Aeroflot before international sanctions were imposed on the Russian airline. But Airbus’s latest backlog figures, to the end of November, indicate that 14 of the A350-1000s have been converted to -900s, which means Air India will have 20 of each variant. The conversion leaves the A350-1000 with 212 overall orders – although 16 of these are part of a dormant agreement with Iran Air. Qatar Airways remains the largest customer, with a commitment for 42, while other significant orders have come from Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Lufthansa.<br/>