US-based aircraft company Boeing will deliver two Dreamliners to Air India this year and additional four in 2017, to complete the airline’s order of 27 of these aircraft, even as the national carrier grapples with glitches in its fleet of 787-800 aircraft. Once described as a “game-changer,” Air India was one of the launch customers of the Boeing 787-800s and started inducting them in its fleet about four years ago. Since then, the airline has been facing a series of technical glitches and other malfunction issues with regard to the Dreamliner fleet.
Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president sales – Asia Pacific and India, Boeing, indicated that two Dreamliners would be delivered this year. He said, “The delivery of Dreamliners start in November this year; it is on schedule. First aircraft in November and the next in December. Four more in 2017.” Air India currently has 21 Boeing 787-800s in its fleet. It has not taken delivery of these aircraft since May 2015. In January 2006, it had placed orders for 68 Boeing aircraft, including 27 Dreamliners and 41 B-777s and B-737-800s.
Occasional glitches have forced Air India to ground these aircraft multiple times, causing long flight delays and significant loss of revenue. Playing down instances of operational woes faced by some aircraft, Keskar asserted there was no delay in the delivery schedule for Air India.”You don’t hear about it. So they have been taken care of. The aircraft (Dreamliner) has stabilised. That is the thing now,” he added.
(PTI)
