DELHI/MUMBAI/WASHINGTON: The Tata group-owned Air India on Tuesday placed the largest-ever aircraft order in global aviation history with letters of intent signed for purchase of 470 aircraft.

The order comprises 40 Airbus A350s, 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777-9s widebody aircraft, which will be deployed on long-haul international routes and then, 210 Airbus A320/321 neos, 190 Boeing 737 MAX narrow body aircraft that will largely operate on domestic routes.Prior to this, the largest aircraft single order placed was in 2011 by AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, which had ordered a mix of 460 narrow body from Boeing and Airbus.The mega deal underlined the ambition of Air India under its new owner Tata to regain the pre-eminent status as well as India's emergence as a major aviation market.

With Air India splitting its order between arch-rivals, the Amercian Boeing and the French Airbus, whose business interests have always been championed by their respective governments, PM Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Maron and US President Joe Biden emphasised the significance of the development for Indo-US and Indo-French ties.PM Modi and French President Macron held a virtual meeting on the signing of the Air India-Airbus agreement for purchase of 250 aircraft with Modi calling it a landmark agreement and an important milestone for India-France strategic partnership.

Modi, in his speech, said the deal is a testament to the deepening relationship between India and France as well as the successes and ambitions of India's civil aviation industry.Saying that in the near future India will become the third largest market in the world in the aviation sector, Modi said, "According to several estimates, India will need over 2,000 aircraft in the next 15 years.

Under 'Make in India' several new opportunities are emerging in the field of aerospace manufacturing." French President Macron said: "This achievement shows that Airbus and all its French partners, including Safran, are dedicated to develop new areas of cooperation with India."Soon after, in what US President Joe Biden described as a "historic agreement", Air India announced the purchase of 220 planes from Boeing for $34 billion, with an option to buy 70 more aircraft that could take the total transaction value to $45.9 billion.

"I am proud to announce today the purchase of over 200 American-made aircraft through a historic agreement between Air India and Boeing," Biden said.Biden and PM Modi also spoke on phone to welcome the "landmark and historic" agreement as a shining example of mutually beneficial cooperation that will help create new employment opportunities in both countries.

Air India celebrated the moment being seen as marking the re-birth of the carrier which, before it was taken away from Tatas, before falling on bad days under government management."The firm part of the order alone is not just the largest order ever made by an Indian airline, it is one of the largest single aircraft orders by any airline, anywhere, ever, and testifies to India's unique combination of extraordinary scale and growth opportunity," said Air India CEO Campbell Wilson, in an internal letter sent to the airline employees.While the landmark order marks the re-emergence of Air India as a big player in the Indian skies and underlines the growth of the country's civil aviation sector in line with projections of growth for the Indian economy, the move has serious geopolitical significance.