Air India, owned by the Tata Group, said on Monday it has leased 12 more aircraft - six narrow-body A320neo and six wide-body B777300ER - to expand its international flight business.

This is in addition to the 30 aircraft – 21 narrow-body A320neo, four narrow-body A321neo and five wide-body B777-200LR – the carrier leased in September this year.

The 30 aircraft leased in September are expected to join the airline's fleet by the end of 2023 and the other 12 by June 2023.

In addition to leasing these aircraft, Air India is in talks with Boeing and Airbus to place a sizeable aircraft order to ensure future expansion.

The Tata group and Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced last week that Vistara will merge with Air India to create a single full-service airline, with SIA holding a 25.1 share in the new entity. AirAsia India is already in the process of merging with Air India Express to create one low-cost subsidiary of Air India.

Air India has focused on its international expansion in recent months. According to data from aviation analytics company Cirium, the airline will operate 809 international flights per week in December, which is about 22 percent more than in June.

Air India itself has a fleet of 114 aircraft. With the addition of 42 leased aircraft (30 leased in September plus 12 now leased), the airline's fleet will increase to 156 aircraft by the end of 2023.

“The Airbus A320neo will be used on the airline's domestic/short to medium international routes. Air India's B777-300 ER will have a four-class configuration of First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy, and will be deployed to Indian metropolitan cities with more international destinations," said the carrier.

Brendan Sobie, of consultancy firm Sobie Aviation, said Air India is in a good position in the international market due to the slow restoration of international capacity to India by many foreign airlines, partly due to problems with Russian airspace and partly due to the overall global issues faced by airlines.

"Air India has access to Russian airspace, which gives it an advantage especially on long-haul flights to North America, and does not have the manpower or other problems faced by airlines in other markets," he said.