PARIS/DELHI, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Air India is continuing

a dramatic turnaround by placing a new order for 85 Airbus

planes and could buy more Boeing ( BA ) jets on top of an

historic order for European and U.S. jets last year, 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.

Three sources said that Air India was the airline behind the

order. Two of the sources said Air India was also in talks for a

potential top-up order from Boeing ( BA ).

Air India did not immediately respond to a request for

comment on the Airbus deal, first reported by Bloomberg News.

Airbus, whose routine monthly bulletin was published shortly

before Tata announced the death of its former chairman at the

age of 86, declined comment on any talks with customers.

Boeing ( BA ) did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Ratan Tata took over from the Tata conglomerate's former

chairman and founder of Air India, J.R.D. Tata in 1991 and

served as chairman for over 20 years.

The trained pilot was involved in the development of

Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines, and

AirAsia India. Following his retirement, Tata Group took back

ownership of Air India after nearly 70 years of public control.

"While admittedly it will take considerable effort to

rebuild Air India, it will hopefully provide a very strong

market opportunity to the Tata Group's presence in the aviation

industry," Ratan Tata said on X in 2021.

Air India is now in the midst of a multi-billion-dollar

revamp to restore a once prestigious brand.

Last year, it agreed to buy 470 jets as part of the project

to restore its fortunes under its founding Tata Group, which

regained control in 2022 after decades of public ownership.

The order, the largest at the time by a single airline, was

split between 250 planes from Airbus and 220 from Boeing ( BA ), with

neither planemaker having the capacity to sweep the whole order.

Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer Nipun Aggarwal,

who led the secret London negotiations, was later quoted as

saying Air India had also negotiated a total of 370 options and

purchase rights from Airbus and Boeing ( BA ) on top of the main order.

Air India said last year that it had options for 70 Boeing ( BA )

jets but did not publish a breakdown for Airbus.