The Hindu Business Line : AI not to extend wet lease on aircraft from Jet Airways

AIR INDIA has no plans of extending the wet lease on the Airbus A-340-300 E aircraft that it has acquired from Jet Airways for a limited period of time, senior airline officials said here on Tuesday .

"There is no provision for extension of the contract. The contract very clearly stipulates the route on which the aircraft can operate and the number of days for which the aircraft will be available. If there was any move to extend the lease we would have acted by now," senior airline officials told Business Line. The aircraft, for which the lease expires on Wednesday, is being utilised by the airline to operate flights between Mumbai and London.

The aircraft was taken on wet lease by AI to meet "special requirements" of the airline, officials said and pointed out that if the aircraft had not been available AI would have been forced to cancel flights and book passengers on flights of other airlines.

"The airline did a cost benefit analysis which showed that AI would have incurred the same cost if they would have operated the flights with their own aircraft. Transferring passengers to other airlines is a costly proposition and cancelling flights would have caused damage to AI's reputation," officials said.

The airline's decision to return the wet lease aircraft will not disrupt its normal flights, as some aircraft would have been inducted back into the fleet to operate scheduled flights.

Meanwhile, the airline hopes to start price negotiations for its 50 Boeing aircraft fleet acquisition programme soon.

"In an effort to save time, the airline has started serious discussions with the vendors who provide equipment for the interiors of the aircraft. We have also held preliminary discussions for price negotiations. In this manner the airline will be fully ready when the final Government permission is given to induct aircraft," sources said.

AI also plans to hire more Commanders including some expatriates for its low-cost airline, Air India Express.

The airline is also examining the option of operating flights from both Delhi and Mumbai to Muscat and Abu Dhabi by AI instead of AI Express.

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