AI board refers Dreamliner delivery issue to panel

The Air India (AI) board on Thursday decided to refer the issue of delivery of Boeing 787 Dreamliners to the committee of officers. The board, which met for the first time after Rohit Nandan took over as chairman and managing director, also discussed the modified turnaround plan.

The government nominees on the board, joint secretary Prashant Sukul and additional secretary E K Bharat Bhusan, wanted to know about the financing plan from the airline management.

“The board discussed the need of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, an important component of the turnaround plan,” said a senior airline official, who did not want to be identified. The airline management said Boeing 787 being a medium-haul aircraft would help AI make short- and medium-haul international routes profitable. It also said loans for these aircraft would come at a much cheaper rate from the US Exim Bank.

“The board also took note of the modified turnaround plan prepared by SBI Caps, based on the recommendations of the committee of officers from the finance and other ministries,” said a release from the airline.

All observations will be sent to the committee, a sub-committee of the finance ministry, that has been asked to vet the plan. The committee had earlier asked the carrier to revise the turnaround plan that included decreasing the size of its fleet from 272 to 233.

In December 2005, AI had ordered 111 aircraft worth Rs 46,000 crore. Out these, it has not received 27 Dreamliners, delayed by over three years, and three Boeing 777s that it has deferred. AI, one of the launch customers of Dreamliner, is to receive its first two aircraft by the end of this calendar year. The airline management, however, wants the delivery of the aircraft expedited.