Air India took delivery of its first Boeing 787 commercial widebody airplane on Thursday at Boeing Co's final assembly plant after a months-long dispute between airline and manufacturer over compensation for a four-year production delay.
Three white 787s trimmed with red and orange Air India colors were parked at the Boeing plant near Charleston, South Carolina and ready for delivery at the end of May. Delivery was held up for months while Air India and Boeing worked out a compensation settlement and waited for Indian government officials to approve it. Terms were not disclosed.
The Dreamliner was also at the heart of a recent Air India pilots' strike. In July, about 500 Air India pilots ended the almost two-month strike over exclusive rights to fly the Dreamliner.
The striking pilots had demanded that their colleagues from the former Indian Airlines, the domestic state-run carrier that merged with Air India, not be trained to fly Dreamliners because they worried it could hurt their own career prospects.
Boeing said Air India is the fifth airline in the world to take delivery of a 787 Dreamliner. The ailing airline has ordered 27 Dreamliners in all.
"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," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplane, in a statement.
The airplane delivered today was built in Everett, Washington and flown to South Carolina for delivery.
"The 787 will allow Air India to open new routes in a dynamic marketplace and provide the best in-flight experience for our passengers," said Rohit Nandan, Air India Chairman and Managing Director.
Made primarily of lightweight carbon fiber materials, the new 787 is lighter than standard aluminum widebody jets. It is the first mid-size airplane capable of flying long-range routes, enabling airlines to open new, non-stop routes preferred by the traveling public, Boeing said in a statement.
Air India's Dreamliner is equipped with 18 business class seats and 238 economy class seats. The airplane is scheduled to fly to New Delhi on Friday.
India, one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world, offers tremendous growth opportunities to planemakers as more newly affluent Indians take to the skies. Boeing officials forecast passenger traffic to grow by 8.4 percent annually in South Asia, which includes India, and by 7 percent annually in China up to 2031.
Boeing Co raised its forecast for the Indian plane market earlier this month, saying the South Asian country would need 1,450 new aircraft worth $175 billion by 2031. "India will have the highest passenger traffic growth in the world, higher than even China's in the next 20 years," Keskar told reporters.
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Air India took delivery of its first Boeing 787 commercial widebody airplane on Thursday at Boeing Co's final assembly plant after a months-long dispute between airline and manufacturer over compensation for a four-year production delay.
Three white 787s trimmed with red and orange Air India colors were parked at the Boeing plant near Charleston, South Carolina and ready for delivery at the end of May. Delivery was held up for months while Air India and Boeing worked out a compensation settlement and waited for Indian government officials to approve it. Terms were not disclosed.
The Dreamliner was also at the heart of a recent Air India pilots' strike. In July, about 500 Air India pilots ended the almost two-month strike over exclusive rights to fly the Dreamliner.
The striking pilots had demanded that their colleagues from the former Indian Airlines, the domestic state-run carrier that merged with Air India, not be trained to fly Dreamliners because they worried it could hurt their own career prospects.
Boeing said Air India is the fifth airline in the world to take delivery of a 787 Dreamliner. The ailing airline has ordered 27 Dreamliners in all.
"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," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplane, in a statement.
The airplane delivered today was built in Everett, Washington and flown to South Carolina for delivery.
"The 787 will allow Air India to open new routes in a dynamic marketplace and provide the best in-flight experience for our passengers," said Rohit Nandan, Air India Chairman and Managing Director.
Made primarily of lightweight carbon fiber materials, the new 787 is lighter than standard aluminum widebody jets. It is the first mid-size airplane capable of flying long-range routes, enabling airlines to open new, non-stop routes preferred by the traveling public, Boeing said in a statement.
Air India's Dreamliner is equipped with 18 business class seats and 238 economy class seats. The airplane is scheduled to fly to New Delhi on Friday.
India, one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world, offers tremendous growth opportunities to planemakers as more newly affluent Indians take to the skies. Boeing officials forecast passenger traffic to grow by 8.4 percent annually in South Asia, which includes India, and by 7 percent annually in China up to 2031.
Boeing Co raised its forecast for the Indian plane market earlier this month, saying the South Asian country would need 1,450 new aircraft worth $175 billion by 2031. "India will have the highest passenger traffic growth in the world, higher than even China's in the next 20 years," Keskar told reporters.
| Lufthansa flight attendants launch 24-hour strike NDTV Berlin: Lufthansa canceled about two-thirds of its flights Friday after flight attendants walked off the job at airports around the country in an escalating battle with Germany's largest airline, but signs emerged that the two sides may be prepared to ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| ||
| Air India takes delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner Times of India The striking pilots had demanded that their colleagues from the former Indian Airlines, the domestic state-run carrier that merged with Air India, not be trained to fly Dreamliners because they worried it could hurt their own career prospects. Boeing ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| ||
| Canadian airlines report record demand for August flights Reuters TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian airlines reported record demand for the travel-heavy month of August on Thursday as ticket sales strengthened, while capacity increases were tightly controlled. The country's largest airline, Air Canada (ACb.TO), said its ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| ACCC scores against Garuda Airlines The Australian THE Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has won a landmark High Court case upholding its rights to take action against Garuda Airlines, which had claimed immunity under the Foreign States Immunity Act. The full bench of the High Court said ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Poor infra may hit airlines' take-off Daily News & Analysis The aviation sector's infrastructure, or its lack thereof, may clip the wings of some non-scheduledairlines which are toying with the idea of opening up avenues of intra-state connectivity in Maharashtra. Sources say modernisation and expansion of the ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Ethiopian Airlines Expansion Targets Five-Fold Revenue Increase Bloomberg Ethiopian Airlines, which flies to 43 African destinations and is sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest carrier, is expanding as economic output on the continent increases. Growth is forecast to accelerate to 4.8 percent next year from an estimated 4.5 ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Glenn Beck continues public attack on American Airlines USA TODAY (blog) For a second straight day, Beck on Wednesday used his show to complain that a flight attendant treated him rudely. Beck claims it was punishment for his conservative views. Beck said American should fire the flight attendant, and he vowed to never fly ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| DGCA made 150 observations against five carriers in regulatory audit: Ajit Singh Economic Times The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has made 77 observations against Air India Charters Ltd, 35 against cash- strapped Kingfisher Airlines, 23 against Jet Airways, 12 against IndiGo and 10 against GoAir, he said, adding that the DGCA has prepared ... See all stories on this topic » |
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