Indian carrier Air Indian will now be leasing out its fuel guzzling Boeing 777s to the private airlines so as to save on fuel costs and also restructure the international operations on receiving the first batch of 787 Dreamliners in about a month.
One of the top official from the airline revealed, “There was a need for a long time to replace the 777s with more fuel-efficient aircraft like the 787s. But due to the delay in 787s delivery we were not able to do so. With the things progressing for the induction of the 787s we are hopeful of leasing out some of the 777s”. The official further revealed that the 787s will be operated on routes were the 777s re used like ultra long haul destination in the US and Canada.
The official also added that the aircraft with its seating configuration of 256 is also best suited for those loss making routes as sometimes there are not enough passengers to fill the 777s. The Boeing 787 aircraft is made of composite material plus the newly developed engine and advanced flight technologies make it highly fuel efficient.
The aircraft can also fly up to 16,000 kms non stop. The plans to lease the aircrafts come after the talks that the Cabinet Committee on Economic affairs might take a favourable decision to induct the 787s after the final compensation package to be offered by Boeing for the delay in deliveries was studied.
