By Santanu Choudhury
NEW DELHI-Air India Ltd. is reconsidering plans to sell more of
the long-range aircraft which it rarely uses as its executives are
concerned they could be accused of corruption if any politician
claimed that the jets were sold at the wrong price.
The money-losing, state-run national carrier sold five of its
eight Boeing Co. 777-200 jetliners to Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways
last year as it had decided it needed the cash and not the
jets.
It got about 4.2 billion rupees ($69 million) per aircraft. The
deal at the time was criticized by India's former federal auditor
and others who said Etihad had somehow been given a sweetheart deal
at below market rates.
Air India executives would now rather just lease out the planes
than expose themselves to criticism and possible prosecution in the
future.
"We don't want investigators to come knocking on our doors after
some years to ask whether we made the right decision," said a
senior Air India executive who asked not to be named.
Corruption allegations have been a staple of India's political
establishment for decades but recent scandals have led to a wider
debate about corruption on the country and helped bring in an
administration that has promised to fight corruption.
Some of the scandals in recent years, including in the allotment
of telecom spectrum and organizing the 2010 Commonwealth Games, led
to sackings and even arrests of federal ministers.
The 777-200LR jets were part of 68 Boeing planes ordered by Air
India in 2006. The planes had a list price of about $11 billion at
the time of the deal.
Air India decided to get rid of its fleet of 777-200LR planes
after higher jet fuel prices and a dearth of demand from Indian
travelers forced it to ditch plans to operate nonstop long-distance
flights to North America.
Write to Santanu Choudhury at santanu.choudhury@wsj.com
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