Tata Group-owned Air India (AI) placed two mega orders, adding up to a staggering 470 aircraft — for 250 planes with Europe’s Airbus consortium, and 220 with the Boeing Company of the United States. This is the largest order placed by an airline in one go anywhere in the world, beating the 2011 order by American Airlines for a combined 460 aircraft. The biggest order by an Indian carrier before this was IndiGo’s 300-aircraft order in 2019. Going by the list price, the AI order value is estimated at between $70 billion and $80 billion.

  Similarly, in 2022, four Chinese airlines, including Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, and Shenzhen Airlines, ordered a total of 292 A320 family aircraft.

  Both India and China are expected to build 300 airports by 2035, driven by a growing middle-class population and the large land parcels available in both countries. Unlike Europe and the U.S., the demand for new aircraft in India and....