Boeing says Jet Air hasn't cancelled orders

Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways which is currently undergoing a financial crisis, has not cancelled any of the plane orders it had placed with aircraft maker Boeing.

Jet Airways which is a major customer of Boeing has placed orders for total 219 Boeing 737 Max planes in last few years. Out of these, about five have been delivered so far. Currently, Jet Airways has 124 aircraft, including Boeing 777-300, 737 MAX and 737s.

"There is no change in orders placed," said Dinesh Keskar, senior VP (sales), Asia Pacific & India for Boeing commercial planes on the sidelines of its annual aircraft industry sale forecast event in Mumbai on Thursday.

The debt-laden Jet Airways recently has cancelled some of its loss-making routes and also offered some of its aircraft on wet leases to other airlines in order to contain its losses.

When probed whether Boeing has factored the financial stress the Indian aviation industry is going through at present, Keskar said that they take a long-term view of the situation. Further giving a perspective to it, he said that when Kingfisher went down, the void was filled by other airlines as it created an opportunity for others. He said though the Indian airlines may be in posting operating losses, many of them are earning money from sale-and-leaseback (SLB).

Boeing, in its forecast, expects Indian carriers ordering up to 2,300 new planes worth $320 billion over the next 20 years to 2037, which is about 9.5% more than its previous prediction of 2,100 jets until 2036 made last year. It added that the single-aisle planes would account for 84% of global aircraft manufacturer's new deliveries to India during the same period, which would be higher than the world average.

MID-AIR TURBULANCE

• 219 – of total Boeing 737 Max planes were ordered by Jet
   
• 124 – of total aircrafts is owned by Jet Airways at present