The Hindu Business Line : Indian to induct 11 aircraft including six regional jets

Leasing plans
Regional jets may be taken on damp lease.
Aircraft to be taken on lease for 5-7 years.
Airbus A-320 aircraft induction to allow more flights on domestic and international routes.

New Delhi , Oct. 23

Indian is to soon induct 11 aircraft on lease including six regional jets for its 100 per cent subsidiary Alliance Air and five Airbus A-320 aircraft for itself.

The state-owned airline's board, which met here on Monday, approved a proposal for acquiring the 70-seater regional jet aircraft from either Bombardier or Embraer.

"We will look at damp lease of the Regional Jets, which means we shall lease the aircraft with the cockpit crew. The aircraft will be taken on lease for between five and seven years. We hope to have the aircraft in our fleet at the earliest. A decision, however, is yet to be taken on whether the aircraft will offer seating in both business and economy class or only in one class. But one thing is clear that the induction of these aircraft will give us a cost competitive advantage," the airlines Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Vishwapati Trivedi, said.

Officials indicated that the induction of the Regional Jets into the Alliance fleet would provide a cost competitive edge for a variety of reasons including higher level of utilisation. The airline did a case study on 16 routes before short-listing the Regional Jets, officials said.

The induction of the Airbus A-320 aircraft would allow the airline to operate on more domestic and international routes. "The idea of inducting the Airbus aircraft is to get aggressive on getting more market share. Besides, these aircraft will also help us better make use of some of the flying rights that the airline has in the Gulf, which we have not been able to utilise due to non-availability of equipment," the Chairman said.

The aircraft are being leased with the CFM engine, which are being used to power the 43 aircraft that the airline is purchasing.