Boeing to begin deliveries of 787s to AI next yr

US aircraft manufacturer Boeing will begin the much-awaited delivery of ‘787 Dreamliners’ to national carrier Air India by the second quarter of 2011 and hopes to clear the backlog of deliveries of over 100 aircraft worth $15 billion to India within the next five years.

“We have said in July that we will start the deliveries of Dreamliners to Air India by the second quarter of next year and we stand by that,” Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar said here today.

Air India had ordered 27 Boeing 787s as part of a 68-aircraft deal in 2006. As per the original schedule, Air India was to receive the first Dreamliner in May 2008 but Boeing’s project was delayed.

The national carrier plans to deploy these “fuel efficient” aircraft on its long-haul sectors such as India-US and India-Australia for non-stop services.

The world’s largest aerospace and defence company has an order backlog of over 100 aircraft in India worth $15 billion — mainly with Jet Airways, Air India and SpiceJet. “This (backlog) would be cleared in the next four to five years, as India’s aviation sector is coming back to life,” Keskar said.