Ai Board Defers Decision On Mclr Deal

The board of directors of Air India (AI) yesterday deferred a decision on its choice of the medium capacity long range (MCLR) aircraft for the international air carrier.

The board, which is meeting for the third time in three months since it was reconstituted in May, was widely expected to end the suspense over the MCLR deal which is hanging fire for over two years. The two major aircraft manufacturers - Boeing and Airbus - have so far been shortlisted by AI to acquire Boeing 777 and Airbus 340 as part of the long-pending fleet expansion programme.

Air India had projected a requirement of 23 MCLR in an effort to increase its market share of international traffic to and from India which has come down to around 25 per cent compared to 35 per cent in 1991. The meeting was convened within a day after Michael Mascarenhas took charge as the interim managing director after Brajesh Kumar relinquished charge as managing director of the airline.

The joint chairman of AI and IA, P C Sen, also attended the meeting which briefly discussed the issue of phasing out three Boeing 747-200s.

The civil aviation ministry has already asked the board of directors to expedite a decision on the MCLR deal so that necessary clearance could be obtained within three months.