Standard Chartered, Bank of India seal $215 mn loan for Air India’s fleet expansion

New Delhi: Standard Chartered and Bank of India will jointly finance a $215 million term loan to Air India subsidiary for the financing of six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

AI Fleet Services IFSC Ltd (AIFS), a subsidiary of Air India, is located at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), Ahmedabad.

The seven-year financing for Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is part of the airline’s ongoing fleet renewal and expansion plans that aim to increase its fleet to 570 aircraft, according to a joint statement by the lenders and the airline.

Sanjay Sharma, Chairman of AIFS and CFO of Air India, said in a statement: “Air India has embarked on a five-year transformation journey by ordering 570 aircraft and GIFT City will be important in financing these aircraft. With this commercial aircraft financing transaction through Standard Chartered and Bank of India, we see that GIFT City has further matured and the demands of Indian aviation “We are pleased to see it emerge as an aircraft leasing and financing option for airlines such as.” “He’s taking a step.”

Vihaan.AI has ordered 570 new aircraft under its programme, merged its sister airlines and is investing in training academies and maintenance facilities.

This deal marks the first commercial aircraft financing transaction with a GIFT City borrower and underscores the city’s emergence as a hub for aviation finance.

Standard Chartered acted as the structuring bank, while both lenders jointly undertook the transaction as authorized lead arrangers and bookrunners (MLAB). This move highlights India’s growing role in global aviation finance.

Promoted by the Gujarat government jointly with the Union government, GIFT City is the country’s first operational greenfield smart city and international financial services hub.

This agreement comes at a time when India is experiencing an aviation boom, with the sector expected to play a key role in economic connectivity and growth.

New routes announced

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Air India announced that it will operate 174 additional weekly flights on domestic and short-haul international routes throughout its winter schedule.

The expansion is designed to meet increased travel demand during the winter program, which begins on October 26.

The new routes will increase connectivity with major cities in India and popular destinations in Southeast Asia. Internationally, the airline is increasing its operations on routes with heavy traffic.

The airline announced that flights between Delhi and Kuala Lumpur will increase from seven to ten flights a week from 15 November. Additionally, services between Delhi and Denpasar (Bali) will increase to 10 weekly flights from December 1.

In the domestic sector, Air India targets key seasonal and regional routes.

The airline will offer new direct services from Delhi to Jaipur and Jaisalmer, three times daily to Jaipur and twice daily to Jaisalmer.

Additionally, frequencies on routes connecting Delhi and Mumbai to Udaipur, Jaipur and Jodhpur will be increased to meet increased passenger demand during the winter tourism season.

Additionally, the airline is strengthening its network in central India.

Especially routes from Delhi to Indore and Bhopal and Mumbai to Indore will see an increase in daily flights.

Additionally, services to Gujarat from Mumbai to Bhuj and Delhi to Rajkot are being expanded to operate twice daily.

In addition to these additions, other high-density routes will also see an increase in flight frequency.

As a result, Delhi will operate more flights to Varanasi, Raipur, Guwahati, Port Blair, Aurangabad and Nagpur, while Mumbai will see an increase in flights to Dehradun, Patna and Amritsar.

According to Air India, this network expansion comes as its fleet renewal program nears completion. The retrofit program was launched in September 2024 and 26 of the 27 legacy Airbus A320neo aircraft have already been retrofitted with completely redesigned interiors, targeting cabin upgrades.

According to the airline, these aircraft now have a three-class configuration including ‘Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class’.

Currently, Air India operates a fleet of 187 aircraft comprising Airbus and Boeing models.

The airline said its continued investment in both network and product reflects its ongoing transformation agenda aimed at repositioning Air India as a world-class carrier.