The Hindu Business Line : Air India unlikely to buy any new aircraft for now

New Delhi, Aug. 15 Air India is unlikely to purchase any new aircraft apart from the 111-acquisition deal which is on going just yet although a strategic plan has been under discussion with a view to acquiring additional aircraft to meet its fleet requirement plan beyond 2011-12.

Official sources told Business Line that while the acquisition proposal was not “on the back burner” or “put in the cold storage” the feeling was that at the moment, the airline should look at tackling other issues including containing the mounting losses and completing the merger process.

The airline had set up an internal committee to look at its fleet expansion requirements well in advance so that Air India would not find itself in a position of aircraft being delivered when the passenger demand was down as there is a time lag of several months in the aircraft being ordered and final delivery.

Aircraft orders

In anticipation of the airline placing more aircraft orders, the US-based Boeing Company and the European aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, made presentations to the airline in December last year.

While Boeing is offering the Boeing 737-900 and the yet to be produced Boeing 747-800 and Boeing 787, Airbus is offering the Airbus A-380 and the yet to be manufactured A-350 extra wide body (XWB) apart from A-320 family of aircraft. At that time one of the aircraft manufacturers had indicated their aircraft will be available to the airline between 2012 and 2014 depending on the type ordered and when exactly the order was placed.

But now with Air India like several other domestic airlines facing challenging times as a result of the rising cost of aviation turbine fuel and low passenger carriage, the feeling is that the purchase decision can wait.

Besides, the global delay in the delivery of the Boeing 787 aircraft, the first of the 27 aircraft ordered by Air India now slated to arrive in the second quarter of next year, is also being seeing as another reason for the airline not actively pursuing its acquisition plans.