Air India had finalised an order for around 250 aircraft with Airbus, and the deal was expected to be announced next week, a source said on Thursday. The source in the know also said that the airline had signed a deal with Boeing for about 200 planes. 

Specific details could not be immediately ascertained and there was no immediate comments from Air India about the deals. 

Tata Group-owned Air India is expanding its operations as well as fleet. 

On January 27, Air India chief Campbell Wilson had said that the airline was finalising a historic order of new aircraft. 

Air India, earlier under the ownership of the government, had acquired new aircraft more than 16 years ago. 

It has not purchased a single aircraft since 2005, and the last order was for 111 aircraft – 68 with Boeing and the remaining 43 with Airbus – and that deal was worth $10.8 billion. 

The source told the PTI that the deal with Airbus for around 250 planes had been finalised and the announcement was likely next week. 

The deal is likely to include 40 wide-body Airbus A350s, and Air India will be the first Indian carrier to operate the aircraft. 

In the past, Air India had operated wide-body A330s.