Air India Ltd. will take delivery of all the Dreamliner planes it had ordered from Boeing Co. (BA), Ajit Singh, Minister for Civil Aviation, Govt of Gujarat said, in spite of the financial problems facing the national carrier. "It should be a good plane for Air India. We are not cutting on any orders," Singh told reporters.
Air India had ordered 27 Dreamliners as part of a 111-plane USD 15 billion order to Boeing and Airbus in 2005 and 2006.
It still has to get deliveries of the Dreamliners and three 777 planes. Induction of all the Dreamliners may take up to three years, Singh said. The airline is expected to get its first Dreamliner in May and is likely to induct seven planes by March 31, 2013, as per a Dow Jones Newswires report. Air India, like other carriers, has been hit hard by high fuel and interest costs. It also has its own problems of an ill-managed merger with erstwhile national carrier Indian Airlines, an inflated workforce and mandatory flying to some loss-making routes. The airline has been making losses since 2007 after the merger. The government has over the last few years put in Rs 32 billion as equity into the carrier and has set aside Rs 40 billion for the next financial year starting April 1, 2012. Air India has deferred deliveries of its 777 orders, but has said it is eager to induct the Dreamliners as they will help in turning around its operations. The airline has said these fuel-efficient planes will be pushed into international routes, replacing older, more fuel-guzzling aircraft. The government had in 2011 considered reducing the order size but later agreed to Air India's views that the planes would be beneficial for its operations.
Click here to see the original article>It still has to get deliveries of the Dreamliners and three 777 planes. Induction of all the Dreamliners may take up to three years, Singh said. The airline is expected to get its first Dreamliner in May and is likely to induct seven planes by March 31, 2013, as per a Dow Jones Newswires report. Air India, like other carriers, has been hit hard by high fuel and interest costs. It also has its own problems of an ill-managed merger with erstwhile national carrier Indian Airlines, an inflated workforce and mandatory flying to some loss-making routes. The airline has been making losses since 2007 after the merger. The government has over the last few years put in Rs 32 billion as equity into the carrier and has set aside Rs 40 billion for the next financial year starting April 1, 2012. Air India has deferred deliveries of its 777 orders, but has said it is eager to induct the Dreamliners as they will help in turning around its operations. The airline has said these fuel-efficient planes will be pushed into international routes, replacing older, more fuel-guzzling aircraft. The government had in 2011 considered reducing the order size but later agreed to Air India's views that the planes would be beneficial for its operations.