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Mr Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice-President, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, addressing a press conference in the Capital on Wednesday. - Kamal Narang

New Delhi , May 4

AIR India (AI) would gain greater financial benefits from its planned 50 Boeing aircraft acquisition than what was being offered by the European aircraft manufacturer, Airbus Industrie.

"The cumulative operating profit per year for AI with a fleet of 50 airplanes is $185 million greater than that of an Airbus fleet," Boeing's Senior Vice-President, Sales, Dr Dinesh Keskar, said here on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference, Dr Keskar said the calculations were based on the projected route pattern and aircraft utilisation for AI. Boeing officials estimate that the operating profit per year for the 27 Boeing 787 alone could be $81 million higher than that of the Airbus A-330-200.

Boeing officials pointed out that the proposed induction would prove beneficial to the airline in many ways, including offering lower landing and navigation charges as the aircraft weighed less, apart from offering a huge reduction in the fuel bill as their planes burn less fuel compared to competition.

"Each Boeing 787 aircraft burns two million gallons less of fuel per year compared to the Airbus A-330-200 aircraft while the Boeing 777-300 ER offers more cabin area than the Airbus A-340-600 aircraft," Dr Keskar said.

Refuting charges that AI will not get the aircraft when required, he said AI could get 23 of the 50 aircraft anytime it wants. "We will be able to provide the 23 Boeing 777 aircraft within 15 months," Dr Keskar said.

On the issue of whether it was US Government pressure that helped Boeing bag the AI order, Dr Keskar said, "at the end of the day what matters is the product. Any talk between two governments will not help unless the product can fly non-stop. The AI evaluation was very thorough and was backed by data. In every category we were superior, so we won."

Commenting on Airbus's demand for a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) inquiry into the AI deal, Dr Keskar merely said that AI had well-established tender norms. "The CVC issue is an internal matter. It is for the Government and airline to decide. When Boeing lost the Indian Airlines deal we did not ask for a CVC inquiry," Dr Keskar said.

Meanwhile, Boeing is also examining the possibility of setting up a training centre in India. Officials said that they were in touch with private airlines and would start talks with AI soon to see how best they could meet the needs of these airlines.

When contacted a spokesman for Airbus said the aircraft manufacturer merely felt that India would require at least 40 Airbus A-380 aircraft over the next 20 years.

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