PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus plans to deepen its industrial presence in India, Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said on Wednesday after meeting the country’s prime minister.
“We are going to proceed to support civil aviation growth and deepen our industrial footprint in India,” Faury said on Twitter alongside a photograph of his meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He didn’t provide further details.
Faury’s comments on industrial presence come as India is increasingly involved within the civil supply chain.
A senior Boeing Co official told ET Infra in September that India had shown resilience through the pandemic and that Boeing and other corporations would make increased use of its suppliers.
The meeting between the world’s largest civil planemaker and the leader of the world’s fastest growing airline market also coincides with a potentially huge Air India jet purchase, though industry sources said this was not the foremost focus of the visit.
Air India is within the advanced stages of negotiating a significant fleet renewal and expansion under recent owner Tata Group that industry sources say could involve 250 Airbus jets including just 200-210 A320neo-family jets and over three dozen A350s.
Airbus also hopes to secure a recent home at Air India for six A350s originally earmarked for Russia’s Aeroflot, though it stays unclear whether these are included within the foremost order.
Air India can also be near a deal to purchase some 190 Boeing 737 MAX jets and 30 of its 787 Dreamliners as a part of the identical package potentially near 500 aircraft, Reuters reported last week. The deal could also involve a handful of larger 777X jets.
After intense talks up to now week, outlines of a package value tens of billions of dollars are taking shape however the timing of any announcement stays unclear, the sources said.
Big-ticket aircraft negotiations typically go right down to the wire and may break down on the last minute over contractual details like deposits and inflation clauses, they cautioned.
Airbus declined to comment and Tata Group was not immediately available to comment.
In October, Tata Group and Airbus said they’d make the C-295 military transport aircraft in India.
India, among the many world’s largest defence importers, has been attempting to cut its reliance on foreign firms and increase local output. Only state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd currently makes aircraft, mainly for the armed forces.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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