PARIS/DELHI, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Air India has continued a dramatic bid to recapture a place among top carriers by placing a new order for 85 Airbus jets and now eyes more Boeings on top of an historic purchase of almost 500 jets from the two planemakers, industry sources said.

The Airbus order emerged in a routine industry update as the national carrier mourned the death of the former chairman of parent Tata Group, business and aviation pioneer Ratan Tata.

Airbus said late on Wednesday an unnamed customer had placed an order for 75 A320-family jets and 10 long-haul A350s – a deal worth $6.3 billion after typical discounts, according to Cirium Ascend data. Airlines frequently keep their names under wraps to avoid revealing their fleet strategies to competitors.

Three industry sources said that Air India was the airline behind the order, which involves exercising options and comes barely a year after it ordered 250 new jets from Airbus and 220 from Boeing to revive its status with an all-new fleet.

Two of the sources said Air India was also in talks for a potential top-up order from Boeing.

Photo Rob Vogelaar