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Jet Airways’ first of the up to 225 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that the airline had ordered was delivered on June 20. Jet Airways has become the first airline in India to induct the 737 MAX. SpiceJet has also placed a firm order for 155 Boeing 737 MAX, the first of which is likely to be delivered later this year .
The delivery of the first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft marked another step in the long history that the US-based aircraft manufacturer has had with India, which dates back to the 1970s when Indian Airlines ordered seven Boeing 737-200 aircraft.
“The aircraft became the workhorse for Indian Airlines. It flew them for many years. I distinctively remember it was in the early 1980s when they took the last Boeing 737-200,” Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice-President, Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told BusinessLine .
The era of liberalisation in India in the 1990s saw the entry of EastWest, Damania Airways and ModiLuft as private players in the aviation sector, all of whom began operations with the Boeing 737-200. In what is perhaps a pointer to Boeing’s involvement in the Indian aviation sector, when the start-up airlines inducted Boeing aircraft, they faced a new problem for which they had no solution.
The airlines did not have engineers to support the aircraft that they had inducted. Sending engineers to the US for training was an expensive proposition and so Boeing decided to lend a hand by sending instructors to India to help these airlines.
“We sent four instructors to support the Boeing aircraft. We did four classes of about 130 engineers each and then did another two in Mumbai,” recalls Keskar.
As new airlines started flying in Indian skies, they also started getting other Boeing aircraft. For instance, the arrival of Jet Airways saw the Boeing 737-300 debut in India. “Jet Airways stood out as it had newer aircraft which had more fuel efficiency,” says Keskar. In 1996, Jet Airways ordered the first New Generation 737-800 and these became the first purchased aircraft in India. The first of these 10 aircraft that Jet ordered was delivered in 1998. The airline subsequently ordered more Boeing aircraft.
According to Keskar, this purchase was Boeing’s biggest breakthrough in India. He points out that this is what opened the doors for the private carriers to start buying aircraft from Boeing. “Until then they were all used leases, not even new leases,” he says.
The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that Jet Airways has now got will allow the airline to fly longer distances. Vinay Dube, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways, recently told BusinessLine that from a range perspective, the MAX will allow the airline to do parts of the coast of East Africa and also some regions in South-East Asia.
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