LONDON—Air India unveiled orders Tuesday for 470 Boeing and Airbus passenger jets as it races to tap surging demand for increasingly affordable air travel from the nation’s growing ranks of middle-class consumers.
India’s largest international airline and second-largest domestic carrier is buying 220 Boeing aircraft valued at $34 billion. It marks the U.S. plane maker’s third-largest sale of all time, in dollar value, and its second of all time in quantity.
Air India is also buying 250 passenger jets from European plane manufacturer Airbus, with the orders championed by the leaders of the United States, France, and India.
The Boeing “purchase will support over 1 million American jobs across 44 states, and many will not require a four-year college degree,” U.S. President Joe Biden said. “This announcement also reflects the strength of the U.S.–India economic partnership.”…