• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Ashwini Phadnis

New Delhi, Jan 18 The latest delay in the production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft could force Air India to drop plans of launching flights to South Africa, Mauritius and China in the near future.

In a statement Boeing announced that the first flight of the 787 has been moved from the end of the first quarter of this year to around the end of the second quarter to provide additional time to complete assembly of the first airplane. Deliveries are now expected to begin in early 2009, rather than late 2008, the statement adds. This is the second postponement after the October statement when Boeing announced a six-month delay in the launch of the Boeing 787 aircraft.

Air India had ordered 10 Boeing 787 aircraft in 2005 as part of a 68 aircraft deal. The first aircraft was originally scheduled to be delivered later this year but Boeing informed the airline that the first delivery was being moved from September 2008 to February 2009. The latest announcement will see a further delay in the delivery thereby affecting the route expansion plans of the airline.

Airline officials told Business Line that the latest announcement could also force the airline to rethink their earlier plan of retiring some older aircraft this year. The airline, which was to be the third airline globally to receive the B 787 aircraft, planned to use it to operate flights on medium capacity routes.

“The delay means that the airline will have to lease more aircraft to meet its operational needs. Leasing aircraft will not be easy as the market is very tight,” a senior airline official said. At the moment the airline has no plans to seek replacement for the 787 aircraft from the manufacturer.

The airline will be seeking compensation from Boeing for the delay in delivery.

More Stories on : Airlines | International Travel

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Govt asks States to cut sales tax on ATF

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line