This week's announcement by Air India detailing its massive order for 470 new Boeing and Airbus-built aircraft was valued at $68 billion. But is this the largest order for new commercial aircraft ever, or has there been an even larger order?

Has the order set a new record?

The announcement earlier this week that Tata Group-owned Air India has placed vast orders for new aircraft was largely anticipated. Yet the sheer scale of the order, the number of airframes involved, and the eye-watering value of the combined order have taken many by surprise.

But is the order for 470 new aircraft with a total market value of US$68 billion unprecedented, or have there been other orders in the past that have been greater, either in terms of aircraft to be delivered or the value of the order itself?

Photo: Airbus

What do we know so far?

According to the press statements issued by the parties involved in this monolithic transaction, Air India has instigated the most extensive fleet replacement program ever seen with its vast order this week. The order is split 50/50 (in terms of transactional value) between Airbus and Boeing, each bolstering their order books to the tune of $34 billion based on current market values.

Air India's Airbus order will add 210 A320neo narrowbodies for its short and medium-haul operations and 40 A350s. The order breaks down to 70 A321neos and 140 A320neos, plus six A350-900s and 34 A350-1000s. The A350s will be the first Airbus widebodies to be operated within the Air India fleet.

Photo: Boeing

Meanwhile, the Boeing element of the deal totals firm orders for 220 new aircraft. The order is split between 190 Boeing 737 MAX, 20 Boeing 787s, and ten new 777X airplanes. Air India becomes the 11th named customer for the 777X, following in the footsteps of Emirates, ANA, British Airways, and others. Alongside the firm orders, Air India has secured options for an additional 70 airplanes, including 50 737 MAX and 20 787s.

According to the Financial Times, the order is the largest ever made for new commercial aircraft. But Simple Flying is here to fact-check its findings as we delve deeper into the background of large commercial aircraft orders in recent history.

What other huge orders have there been?

Before we consider whether the Air India order is the biggest in history, we need to set some goalposts in place. Orders for new aircraft can be quantified either by their total market value when the order is placed or by the number of new airframes to be added to the airline's fleet. We have certainly seen large orders in the past, but how does this latest one square up?

If we look back in history, we only have to go back to June 2011 when American Airlines proudly announced that it was placing 'the largest aircraft order in history' when it agreed to purchase a new narrowbody fleet from Airbus and Boeing.

Ordering a combined total of 460 aircraft from the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families, the carrier claimed that the scale of the order was ground-breaking at the time and had never been seen before. The combined value of the order was said to be $38 billion at 2011 prices.

Photo: Denver International Airport

Yet this announcement started a trend of large orders from airlines worldwide. That same month (June 2011) proved to be a bumper month for the two leading manufacturers. Orders from IndiGo (182 aircraft), AirAsia (200 aircraft), and United Airlines (also 200 aircraft) were added to their burgeoning order books. Southwest Airlines ended that year nicely for Boeing with an order for 226 Boeing 737 family aircraft.

Lion Air took the lead for the largest single aircraft order in February 2012 when it agreed to purchase 201 737 MAX aircraft (it added 50 more in 2017). It also ordered 29 737-900 aircraft at the same time, in what Boeing referred to as its most significant commercial aircraft order to date, with a list price of $21.7 billion.

Photo: Alexiushan | Shutterstock

Then in 2013, Emirates signed an enormous order with Boeing for 150 new Boeing 777X aircraft valued at $76 billion. The order comprised 35 777-8 and 115 777-9 aircraft. The value of this order was the highest value order placed for new aircraft and, given inflation, would likely be valued even higher if the order was placed today.

Photo: Emirates

The next most noteworthy sizeable order came from IndoGo (the Indian low-cost carrier) in 2019. The carrier placed a huge Airbus order for 300 A320neo family aircraft valued at $33 billion.

Lastly, we must look towards the United States for the most recent large order before Air India joined the party this week. United's landmark order placed in December 2022 was described at the time as "the largest widebody order in the history of US aviation."

The Chicago-based airline ordered 100 Dreamliners, with an option for 100 more, plus 100 MAX narrowbodies (44 exercised options and 56 new units). Although the parties did not disclose the exact value of the deal, at the list prices at the time, the order would have been valued at more than $37 billion.

Photo: United Airlines

So how does the Air India order rank?

An order for 470 new airliners across Boeing and Airbus has never been seen before. As we have seen above, the two leading manufacturers have enjoyed some huge individual orders in the past decade or so. But for both companies to be offered an equally chunky slice of the Air India fleet modernization pie is indeed unprecedented.

In terms of the number of airframes ordered, the combined Air India order surpasses that of American Airlines in 2011 (460) by ten airframes and by a considerable margin in terms of value. For the other large orders cited above, although some might have been larger for Boeing or Airbus on an individual basis, there has never been such a gargantuan order spread across the two manufacturers previously.

In terms of market value, the Air India order is beaten only by the 2013 Emirates order for 150 Boeing 777X aircraft, valued at $76 billion, surpassing the Air India order by a mere $8 billion. At the time of the order placement, Emirates expected the first of the new fleet members to be in service in 2020. So far, the plane isn't even certified as yet.

The biggest ever?

So we can conclude that the Air India order is indeed the largest order for new commercial aircraft in the history of passenger air travel in terms of individual aircraft ordered.

Meanwhile, while the transaction might not quite take the crown as the highest value order of all time, in a world where currencies continuously fluctuate, as do aircraft values, combined with the fact that airlines almost ever pay the full list price for new aircraft, it is a certainly a very closely run contest.

Source: Financial Times