India’s second largest airline, Jet Airways, is being tipped to place an order with Boeing for 50 aircraft worth $2.5 billion.
The airline may order 737 single-aisle aircraft, which will be used for local expansion, Bloomberg TV India reported.
Acquiring new aircraft would enable the Mumbai-based company to expand and start more routes ahead of impending competition from Singapore Airlines and AirAsia which have both sought to start airlines in India.
Etihad Airways bought a 24% stake in Jet Airways last year, in the first cross-border deal for Indian carriers since rules were eased in 2012.
Boeing last year estimated Indian carriers will need 1,450 new aircraft in the next 20 years. Of this, 1,201 will be single-aisle models such as the 737.
The number of air passengers in India is forecast to triple to 452 million by 2020, according to a report by CAPA Centre for Aviation and SITA.