Indian airline Air India said today that it has agreed to buy 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, which will accelerate the revival of India’s former national carrier under its new owners, Tata Group.

Based on what is known so far, the company intends to buy 220 aircraft from Boeing and another 250 from Airbus.

US President Joe Biden called the deal “historic” as it is the largest aircraft order in civil aviation history.

The cost of the 470s is $70 billion, but those prices rarely hold up as manufacturers usually settle for discounts, especially for such large contracts.

Air India has signed a letter of intent from Airbus for 140 A320s, 70 A321s and 40 A350s to be used on “very long haul routes,” said Tata Chairman N. Chandrasekaran.

Boeing will buy 190 737MAX, 20,787 Dreamliners and 10 777X mini jumbos.

The contract also includes an option to buy another 70 aircraft in the future, according to a US government source.

Air India’s new chairman and CEO, Campbell Wilson, is trying to resurrect it as an international carrier and shake off the company’s image of an aging fleet, poor service and flight delays.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the political and economic importance of the deal with India’s former flag carrier. “This important agreement demonstrates, in addition to deepening relations between India and France, the achievements and aspirations of the Indian civil aviation sector,” Modi said.

“This achievement shows that Airbus and all its French partners are fully committed to developing new sectors with India,” Macron said, stressing that France will work with New Delhi in other areas as well.

The largest aircraft order to date has been from American Airlines, which bought 460 Airbus and Boeing aircraft about a decade ago.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP, Reuters.