The Air India board has approved a proposal seeking to inductthe wide-bodied Boeing 787-9 aircraft in the fleet as it plans to expand operations to the US besides launching services to Canada.
Air India will lease seven B787-900 planes, the higher range ofB787-8 aircraft, for which the Board has given its go-ahead, Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani said.
"The board's approval for leasing of seven B787-900 planes has come by," Lohani told PTI.
The airline currently has 23 B787-800 planes among others in its fleet, and four more of these aircraft are expected to be delivered to it between July and October this year.
Air India has proposed a host of international destinations for launch this year as part of its overseas expansion plans.
The national carrier is looking to launchone more destination in the US this year in addition to Washington DC, which willcommenceoperations from July, Lohani said.
At presentLos Angeles, Dallas andHouston are being exploredand air services to one of them could start later this year, he said.
Air India is also mullinglaunchingflights to either Vancouver or Toronto in Canada from New Delhi going forward, according to Lohani.
Plans are also afoot to increase frequency to Australia and to look at routes in Africa by connecting Mumbai with Mauritius or Nairobi, he added.
The Air India CMD also said that flight services to the Danish capital Copenhagen are now likely to start from August instead of May.
Air India will also be commencing operations directly to Israel next month.
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