Air India Will Have its first Boeing Dreamliner

Tuesday, 11th September 2012 at 02:43am

The three-year long wait is finally over as Air India will finally take delivery its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner this September. The new aircraft with the airline's livery is scheduled to touch down in New Delhi on Saturday direct from Boeing's factory in Everett, Washington.

Air India was one of the first two airlines in the world who have placed orders for this new generation aircraft. But the dispute between this flag carrier and Boeing further delayed the delivery of such aircrafts by more than a month, after the said parties couldn't agree on the amount of compensation due to the delay-- the 787s was supposed to be delivered three years ago.

Two more aircraft are scheduled to be delivered over the next few weeks. Air India placed orders for 27 Dreamliners in 2006 whose original schedule of delivery was in 2009.

The new aircraft will be used initially for its domestic operations including Delhi-Mumbai sectors, to allow the pilots get acquainted with the new equipment especially in the landing and take-off aspects of its operation.

The result of the Delay Compensation Agreement between the airline and Boeing though was still under study by Union Law Ministry of India.

The airline is seeking a specific amount of compensation from Boeing for the latter's failure to deliver the aircraft as scheduled, which was supposed to take place in 2008.

Boeing was supposed to deliver the first batch of aircraft to Air India in September 2008. Unfortunately, there were issues concerning its design and production, prompting the aircraft maker to delay its delivery.

Air India will launch a number of long-haul international flights as soon as 14 of the new aircraft are delivered by March next year, some of which are planned direct services to Australia.

The Dreamliner is touted as the world's most fuel-efficient aircraft due to its lightweight, being made of carbon composite material. The new generation aircraft is said to consume 20 percent less fuel than 767, enabling it to save on flying costs.

As many as 47 airline companies around the world have placed orders for a total of 900 Dreamliners.

The 787 Dreamliner is a mid-size, long-range, twin-engine jet airliner capable of carrying up to 290 passengers over a distance of up to 15,000 kilometers non-stop.

Japan's All Nippon Airways became the first airline in the world to place order a Dreamliner with 50 units. It also became the first carrier to take delivery of the first Dreamliner on September 21, 2011. Japan Airlines and Ethiopian Airways are two other airlines with 787 Dreamliners already on their fleet.

By: Pete Lee.