-- Air India Executive: To get two more Dreamliner jets this
month
-- Air India to fly Dreamliner initially to Australia, western
Europe
NEW DELHI--Boeing Co. (BA) said Thursday it has delivered the
first 787-800 Dreamliner plane to Air India Ltd., ending the
national carrier's wait of more than four years to get the
fuel-efficient jets.
The delivery of the first of 27 Dreamliner planes Air India
ordered comes also after a long, public spat between the carrier
and the U.S. plane maker over compensation for the delay.
For Air India, one of the first customers for the airliner, the
new planes are crucial as they will allow the loss-making airline
to start flights to new foreign destinations and try and regain
market share ceded to rivals such as Emirates Airline, Deutsche
Lufthansa AG (DLAKY) and Singapore Airlines Ltd. (SINGY).
The new jet is considered to be among the most fuel-efficient
aircraft, with Boeing saying it uses 20% less fuel than similarly
sized planes.
Air India plans to replace its older, fuel-guzzling aircraft
with the Dreamliners and induction of the new planes was part of
the airline's plans to cut costs and turn around its
operations.
"The 787 will allow Air India to open new routes," said Rohit
Nandan, Air India's chairman and managing director.
Dinesh Keskar, president of Boeing India, said he expects the
delivery of the jet to be a key focus of Air India's turnaround
plans.
Air India's first Dreamliner was assembled in Everett, Wash. It
was delivered from Boeing's South Carolina facility.
Earlier Thursday, an unnamed senior executive of Air India told
Dow Jones Newswires that the jet will land in New Delhi Saturday.
"We will get two more planes later this month," the executive
added.
The new aircraft can carry up to 256 passengers and fly without
stopping for up to 15,200 kilometers. The Dreamliner also has more
cargo-carrying capacity than similarly sized wide-bodied
planes.
Air India will use the new jets to initially operate flights to
Australia and western Europe.
The delivery of the twin-aisle planes, ordered in January 2006,
was delayed for several years due to production problems at Boeing,
leading Air India to seek a compensation.
Earlier this year, India's aviation ministry said it had asked
Boeing to pay nearly $1 billion to Air India for the delay and that
the plane maker has agreed to pay half that amount. Boeing disputed
that claim.
The Indian government on Aug. 3 permitted Air India to take
delivery of the planes from Boeing after the two sides came to an
agreement on the compensation amount, which was kept
confidential.
But a delay in signing the agreement by India's law ministry
pushed back the delivery of the planes.
Write to Santanu Choudhury at santanu.choudhury@dowjones.com and
Saurabh Chaturvedi at saurabh.chaturvedi@dowjones.com
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