| | FEBRUARY 20239THIS VERY IMPORTANT CONTRACT AND THIS ACHIEVEMENT TODAY IS ONE OF THE MILESTONES OF THE IN-DEPTH STRATEGIC AND FRIENDLY PARTNERSHIP WE HAVE BETWEEN INDIA AND FRANCEfriendly partnership we have between India and France," he said.Civil aviation was an important aspect of national infrastructure, according to Modi, who cited estimates that India will require more than 2,000 aircraft over the next 15 years.The announcement coincided with the Aero India show in Bengaluru, India's technology capital, where leading global aviation companies are showcasing their wares. Air India is still the country's largest international carrier, but its domestic market share in September was only 8.6 percent. It aims to have a 30 percent domestic market share by the end of 2027, while also expanding its fleet to cover more international routes. Tata Group is well-positioned to capitalise on the burgeoning market despite the conglomerate's six-decade absence from the air travel industry, aviation consultant Mark Martin told AFP. "They will have to recruit talent and return to the warm Indian hospitality that made it one of the top five airlines in the world in the 1960s and 1970s", he said.Last May, New Zealander Campbell Wilson was appointed as Air India's first foreign CEO to overhaul operations and return it to profitability.However, the airline was slammed for its handling of a Wells Fargo executive who was allowed to disembark as usual after allegedly urinating on an elderly woman aboard a flight from New York late last year.
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