Air India takes delivery of final 787-8 Dreamliner

Air India has received its final Boeing 787-800 aircraft, completing an order placed more than a decade ago.

Air India in 2006 placed orders with Boeing for 68 aircraft—27 787-800s, 15 777-300ERs, eight 777-200LRs and 18 737-800s.

The airline has taken delivery of most of the aircraft, except three 777s that are expected to be delivered early next year. Most of these aircraft are on sale-and-leaseback arrangement, under which the seller leases the aircraft back from the purchaser for a long-term period.

Air India’s fleet stands at 119, the second-largest fleet in the country after IndiGo, which has 141 aircraft. Air India also flies the most international passengers.

The airline was founded in the 1930s by the Tata Group before being nationalized after Indian independence in 1947. However, it has failed to make profit since its merger with Indian Airlines in 2007.

Air India, which manages a major share of the country’s domestic air travel market, has been lagging behind other carriers, despite the domestic aviation market’s rapid growth. The airline has been faced financial losses for years because of high operating costs and some of the lowest fare prices in the world and stiff competition from local carriers, which include Jet Airways, IndiGo, GoAir, SpiceJet and Vistara.

In June, the Indian government approved plans to privatize national carrier Air India.

(Jay Menon - ATWOnline News)