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Dec 2006

Air-India inducts new Boeing jetliner to its fleet

     New Delhi: The state-run airlines, Air India, inducted a new aircraft, the first of its planned order of 68 Boeing jetliners, to its fleets on Wednesday. The digitally designed Boeing 737-800 NG jetliner, which is part of the largest commercial airplane order in India's civil aviation history, will be joining the existing fleet of Air-India Express, Air-India's new budget airline. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said the introduction of the new aircraft would advance the performance of the state-run airline allowing it to withstand competition. "As the aviation scenario will emerge over a period of time, I do want to see a strong Air India, a strong national carrier to be able to take on the competition. Air India has traditionally been a very well respected carrier; of course for reason not entirely to be attributed to the performance of Air India, the things are not as happy as it should have been. But I can rest assured with the arrival of this new aircraft, as the chairman mentioned, there will be enthusiasm within the company itself," he said after formally receiving the aircraft in the Capital. The Indian cabinet in December 2005 approved Air-India's plans to buy up to 68 aircraft from Boeing, for which a firm order was placed earlier this year. The Boeing order comprises 23 777s -- including eight long-range and 15 extended range aircraft -- and 27 of the widebody Dreamliner, due to enter service in 2008. Air-India Express, the budget airline, will receive 18 737-800s.

     The aircraft, which were valued at more than 11 billion dollars in total at list price, according to a statement from Boeing, includes fifty planes earmarked for Air-India and 18 for Air- India Express, its new budget airline. David Mulford, US Ambassador to India, said such deals were symbolic of the growing relations between India and the United States. "The delivery of this aircraft is in itself highly symbolic because the aircraft in today's world is a bridge, and it is a bridge between the United States and India and the movements of our people backwards and forward and therefore served as a highly important symbol of this growing relationship," he said. Boeing has an existing deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., a research deal with the Indian Institute of Science, and software services agreements with Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Wipro Ltd. Boeing, whose commercial plane orders more than tripled to a record 1,002 in 2005 on demand from Asia and the Middle East, has said it expected India to buy 490 aircraft over the next two decades as cheaper fares and growing traffic fuel demand. The country's domestic air travel market is forecast to grow more than 20 percent a year over the next five years as incomes rise and fares fall as new discount carriers launch in an increasingly crowded space. Airlines flew an estimated 19 million domestic passengers in the country in the year to March 2005. Air-India, which has not bought aircraft since 1996, has faced intense competition from domestic private carriers that can now fly overseas routes and from international airlines that have stepped up their services to and from India. Air-India and the domestic state carrier, Indian, are scheduled to make an initial public offering later this year.
-Dec 6, 2006