Comments
SpiceJet and Jet Airways are candidates for buying 737 MAX aircraft, according to Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice-President, Asia-Pacific and India, Boeing.
Last year, SpiceJet was in advanced discussions to buy 30-40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA) had said.
The Boeing 737 MAX is the latest aircraft from the US-based aircraft manufacturer. The aircraft, which is Boeing’s response to Airbus’ A-320 New Engine Option or NEO, is scheduled to take wings in 2016 and its first delivery to a customer is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Declining to get into details of any fresh orders from Indian companies, Keskar said at a press conference here that the aircraft manufacturer was bullish on the Indian market.
“The forecast that Boeing made about India requiring about 1,450 aircraft over the next 20 years stands. It does not change because of difficulties in the market,” Keskar said, adding that SpiceJet was yet to receive 24 Boeing 737s, and Jet Airways 14 of the same kind of aircraft.
MRO facility
Asked about the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility that Boeing was helping Air India set up at Nagpur, Keskar said it should be operational by the second quarter of next year. The $100 million MRO is the result of Boeing’s commitment when Air India purchased 68 aircraft from Boeing in 2005-06.
The facility will carry out checks and maintenance of Boeing 777 and 737 aircraft with the Indian carrier.
In addition to meeting the needs of Air India, the facility will also have the capacity to take care of the needs of regional airlines.
> ashwini.phadnis@thehindu.co.in
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.