Aircraft manufacturer Boeing will deliver two Dreamliner aircraft to Air India by the end of this year. In addition, four more Dreamliners will be added to the state-owned carrier's fleet next year.
"The delivery of Dreamliners starts in November this year. Its delivery is on schedule. First plane in November and the next in December. Four more in 2017," Dinesh Keskar, Boeing's senior Vice President (Asia Pacific and India) told the Press Trust of India.
Air India despite being one of the first customers of Boeing's 787-800 is still struggling with rectifying the technical glitches of the previous deliveries of its Dreamliner fleet. Technical glitches in the past have forced the carrier to ground its planes on numerous occasions and cause long flight delays, which results in loss of revenue for the state-based carrier.
Around a decade ago, Air India had placed an order for 68 Boeing aircraft, which included 27 Dreamliners and 41 Boeing 777 and Boeing 737-800.
Not just Air India, Boeing is reportedly in talks with SpiceJet for plane orders.
"The answer is very simple. They have already ordered Boeing 737 MAX planes. They have been operating Boeing planes from day one. All they are looking at now is what kind of price Boeing will offer or what benefits Airbus will offer. When the time is right, they will make their decision," Keskar said.
In the Indian civil aviation market, domestic carriers such as Air India, Jet Airways and SpiceJet have Boeing aircraft in their fleet.
In terms of market share, Air India's share for the month of May increased to 15.6 percent.
Two months ago, Air India had offered new discount scheme in a bid to woo passengers. It had announced an all-inclusive airfare of Rs. 1,499 to passengers on all domestic routes. The limited-period scheme was valid for five days during the last week of May.
