Deliveries of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Air India have been delayed by two more months, with the first aircraft now expected to be handed over only in December 2011. Airline officials recently confirmed the delay, saying the delivery of the first 787, to Japan’s All Nippon Airways, has still not been completed. This rules out any possibility of the aircraft coming to Air India — which will get the 22nd 787 — before December 2011.
The arrival of the Dreamliners is crucial to Air India’s turnaround since it currently lacks any medium-haul aircraft in its fleet. Once the aircraft start arriving, the airline plans to reopen lucrative sectors such as Malaysia. Some years ago, Air India had 21 weekly services to Malaysia but had to shut down the flights due to non-availability of proper medium-haul aircraft, according to a DNA report by Sindhu Bhattacharya.
Air India is already fighting with the Boeing Company for compensating it on an almost three-year delay in delivering the Dreamliners. Airline officials said Boeing has been told about the Rs 6,000 crore estimated revenue loss because of the delay and Air India will pursue the compensation issue further. Air India is also pushing for two full-fledged low-cost services in its turnaround plan.