According to aviation industry analysts, the purchase would create a rush of employment in the Indian aviation sector because the airline would require operational workers as well as people for auxiliary functions.

According to leading aviation industry experts, the recent major contract between Tata-owned Air India and aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus would, directly and indirectly, create over 200,000 employment in India. Air India, which presently has a fleet of 140 planes, would purchase 470 jets from Boeing and Airbus under the agreement.

According to the experts, the merger would create a rush of employment in the Indian aviation sector because the airline would require operational workers as well as people for auxiliary functions.

Mark Martin, the CEO of Martin Consulting, a firm with expertise in the aviation sector, told Business Today, “There are two aspects to the kinds of jobs that will be created, direct employment and indirect employment. The total direct plus indirect jobs created for a narrow-body aircraft is around 400. And for a wide body plane, it is around 600-700.”

Martin further broke down this number and explained, “Direct Employment will include those who are directly employed by the airline, for example, pilots, cabin crew, all technical and non-technical staff. This is around 175 for a narrow-body aircraft. And adding indirect people i.e. external to the company, supporting the aircraft including airport staff, air traffic controllers, transport vendors, service providers, and others, this number comes up to 400 for a narrow body plane.”

According to an aviation industry expert, “direct employment in the case of a widebody is around 250 to 300, and after including indirect employment, this number can go up to 600 to 700.”

“By extrapolating this data, one can conclude that the number of jobs created would be in the range of 2,02,000 to 2,09,000,” he added.

Former Air India executive director Jitender Bhargava shared these sentiments.

“Air India will require experienced pilots, cabin crew members, maintenance engineers, ground crew, and so on,” he stated. Most crucially, this agreement means that aircraft will now reach places that are not currently served by airlines. This would benefit both infrastructure and tourism in that area.”

It’s also worth noting that, in a now-deleted LinkedIn post, Air India chief commercial and transformation officer Nipun Aggarwal revealed that the arrangement with the aircraft makers was for 840 planes, of which 470 were ordered and 370 were options.

“The order consists of 470 firm aircraft, 370 options, and purchase rights to be obtained from Airbus and Boeing over the next decade,” Aggarwal wrote in a deleted post.

Bhargava noted that the “370 options” meant that Air India could buy 370 aircraft at the same price as 470 aircraft.

“The deal’s choices imply that the airline has locked the price. This implies it can acquire 370 planes for the same amount it paid for 470 planes, according to an aviation industry analyst.

According to sources, the aircraft were sold to the airline at a reduced price.

Jobs will be produced not just in India, but also in the United States. Immediately after Air India announced the agreement, US President Joe Biden praised it as historic and stated that the collaboration will produce millions of employment in the United States.

French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak both hailed the agreement since it will benefit his respective countries’ aviation industry.

Likewise, Manish Tewari of the Congress Party stated that the transaction will create no employment in India.