Jet to get new-look Boeing 737 in Sept

Jet Airways will get a new-look Boeing 737, with improved cabin features and LED lighting in September, Boeing India president Dinesh Keskar said here on Thursday.

Last year, Boeing upgraded the cabin of its Boeing 737 with new features such as LED lighting, bigger overhead bins and new ceiling panels. It says the changes are cost-effective. For instance, the new lights in the cabin are longer lasting and energy efficient, with an estimated 40,000 hours life between replacements. This compares with 4,000 hours for the previous standard of lights.

Jet will be the first Indian air carrier to get Boeing 737s with these features.

Air India Express and SpiceJet also operate Boeing 737s.

Announcing Boeing's market forecast for India, Keskar said Boeing had an order book of 110 planes from India, including 37 Boeing 787s for Air India and Jet Airways and Boeing 737s for Jet Airways and SpiceJet. The deliveries will be complete in five years. The first Boeing 787 to Air India will be delivered in the last quarter of 2011.

The plane manufacturer estimates India will require 1,320 planes over the next 20 years but Keskar feels there will be no demand for an Airbus A380 or a dedicated cargo freighter from India. Over 80 per cent of the needed planes would be narrow body ones like the 737 or the Airbus A320, he said.

He said the Boeing management was yet to decide whether to overhaul the engine of the 737 or to develop an altogether new plane for this segment.