First Dreamliner for Air India to land on Saturday

The new 256-seater aircraft would touch down at Delhi's IGI Airport on September 8, an Air India spokesperson said, adding that the plane was received by Capt Soman and Capt Amitabh Singh at the South Carolina Boeing factory on behalf of the national carrier.

The airline, which had placed orders for 27 of these aircraft six years ago, would get the delivery of two more Dreamliners within the next few weeks. With these new planes, Air India plans to expand its international operations and launch new services, including those to Australia.

Air India took delivery of the plane after the Union Law Ministry cleared the Delay Compensation Agreement, which would be signed between Air India and Boeing. The agreement is to clinch the compensation deal to be given by the US aircraft major for almost four-year delay in deliveries.

The first batch was to have been delivered in September 2008 but design and production issues at Boeing delayed deliveries. The agreement was cleared by the Union Cabinet in August and was being fine-tuned by the Law Ministry.

"The 787 will allow Air India to open new routes in a dynamic marketplace and provide the best in-flight experience for our passengers," AI CMD Rohit Nandan said, adding "today is a great day for Air India as the most technologically advanced and fuel efficient airplane in the world joins our fleet".

Boeing's Senior Vice President (Asia Pacific and India Sales) Dinesh Keskar said in a statement, "I am sure Air India and their customers will be thrilled to experience the revolutionary features on the 787, an airplane that will be the key focus of the airline's turnaround plan." (MORE)