Air India gets nod for fleet upgradation

The Board of Directors of National Aviation Company of India Ltd at its meetings held in Mumbai on Saturday approved the borrowing of one B777-200 LR...

The Board of Directors of National Aviation Company of India Ltd at its meetings held in Mumbai on Saturday approved the borrowing of one B777-200 LR, two 777-300 ERs and two spare engines amounting to US469.415 million. These three aircraft will be inducted into Air India8217;s fleet during 2008.

Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of Air India Charters Ltd, which also met on Saturday, approved the borrowing of five B737-800s and three spare engines amounting to US243.605 million. These aircraft will be inducted into the fleet of Air India Express between January 2008 and March 2009.

The first tranche of financing covering four B777-200 LRs, three 777-300 ERs and two spare engines for NACIL and ten 737-800s and two spare engines for AICL approved earlier will be completed by December 31, 2007. The last B777-200 LR under the first tranche of financing will be delivered to NACIL on December 31, 2007 at Seattle.

The national carrier, Air India, is looking forward to major activity in 2008 with an expanded network, new aircraft and initiation of cost-cutting measures, said officials.

8220;2008 is looking good. With the merger successfully achieved in 2007 that wound up splendidly with the Star Alliance membership announcement, Air India is gearing up for a good 2008 as well. We will be getting 17 new aircraft this year which will be inducted in phases and three new leased 70-seater CRJs will also be in action to help us expand our network,8221; Jitendra Bhargava, Executive Director Corporate Communications, Air India, told The Sunday Express recently.

Starting with a non-stop flight from Delhi to New York in February 2008, AI is looking at Bangalore-San Francisco connectivity by mid-2008 aboard a brand new Boeing 777 200 LR. AI has already introduced two new direct flights to Singapore and Hong Kong in October this year. On the domestic front, its three new Canadian Regional Jets CRJs will fly along short-haul regional routes. The new aircraft to be inducted next year will include five Boeing 777S, four Boeing 737s, eight Airbus with five A321s and three A319s and three Canadian Regional Jets CRJs.

AI will get three A319s in the latter half of 2008 and five A321s by August 2008. Another four Boeing 737 300 ERs and 737 800s besides a 777- 200 will be inducted in its fleet next year. In 2008, AI is also likely to finalise on their new aircraft order for post-2012 by when the current order of 111 aircraft will be delivered to them and they will need to add to their fleet.

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8220;Even as we will expand our network, we will be rationalising routes to cut down costs. We have planned initially to do so along 13 major routes where there is duplicity of flights between the former Air-India and Indian Airlines. Routes along Southeast Asia and the Gulf towards Bangkok, Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Kuwait are likely to be looked at in this exercise which will finally be completed by 2008-end as the whole merger exercise rolls out,8221; added Bhargava.

8220;The national carrier8217;s membership to Star Alliance will also be formalised over the next year and the seamless connectivity across the global airline alliance is likely to come through by early 2009,8221; said the officials.