Clearing the final hurdle, the US aviation regulator — Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given its mandatory flying clearances to AI.
After a delay of more than four years, India’s national carrier Air India (AI) is finally set to get the delivery of the much-awaited Boeing-787 Dreamliner by month end and fly the state-of-the-art aircraft into India. Clearing the final hurdle, the US aviation regulator — Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given its mandatory flying clearances to AI.
“A team of pilots, engineers and other crew members will leave for the US soon,” an AI official said. “We expect the aircraft to be in India within a fortnight,” he added.
According to the official, some top management officials like general manager for the wide bodied aircraft and director operation are already in the US to finish the final modalities of sales and lease back of the aircraft. AI hopes to save on maintenance and other cost by selling and leasing back the aircraft from international lenders.
On August 3 the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the proposal of the civil aviation ministry allowing the flag carrier to take delivery of 27 B-787 aircraft after signing the delay compensation settlement agreement. The amount of compensation which Boeing is would pay AI is yet not clear.
AI will be the only third global airline after All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines to receive the fuel-efficient and eco-friendly aircraft.
AI booked for 27 Boeing 787s in 2006 in a deal for 68 aircraft from Boeing and was to get the delivery in May 2008 but it got delayed due to several reasons, including manufacturing issues. As per the latest schedule, all the 27 aircraft are expected to be delivered by March 2016.
According to sources, the airline plans to deploy the Dreamliner on domestic routes to save on fuel, train the crew and add flexibility in its winter schedule by flying out to select domestic and overseas destinations.
“A key feature of the aircraft is fuel saving, it consumes 20% less fuel than other aircraft,” the official said.
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