Jet eyes larger Dreamliner to counter delays

Anticipating a delay in the delivery of the 787-8 Dreamliner, Jet Airways, the country’s largest private airline, may change its order to the larger variation of the model — the 787-9 — that has a shorter waiting list.

Jet’s deliveries for the 787-8 Dreamliner are scheduled to start only from 2011, but Boeing executives admitted that even these deliveries would be delayed as a cascading effect of other delays. In April this year, Jet Airways had warned Boeing against possible delays in Dreamliner derliveries, saying the aircraft manufacturer would have to pay compensation in such an event.

Confirming the talks, Dinesh A Keskar, Boeing’s senior vice president, sale, said, "There have been only informal talks about the 787-9, no serious discussions." Executives of Jet Airways declined to comment.

Jet Airways had placed an order for 10 787-8 aircraft worth $1.5 billion or $150 million per aircraft at the January 2007 list price. According to current prices, the 787-8 costs $170 million and the Dreamliner 787-9 around $200 million but has 16 per cent more capacity with 290 seats.

Dreamliner deliveries have been delayed partly because of supply side constraints and a large part of the manufacturing is outsourced.

Air India is facing delayed deliveries for Dreamliners of beyond a year. The state-owned carrier ordered 27 Dreamliners out of the 68 Boeings in 2005. The deliveries are now slated to start from the third quarter of 2009. Compensation for the delayed aircraft is still under discussion between the carrier and the aircraft manufacturer.