AI set to buy 100 planes

New Delhi: India could soon place a big ticket order for aircraft purchase in coming months with the national carrier Air India planning to add more planes in its fleet. According to highly placed sources, this figure is being pegged at well over 100 planes — in addition to the 111 already ordered by now merged Air India and Indian Airlines in an order worth $10 billion about two years back. The fresh order for over 100 planes could roughly cost the same as price hikes will be offset by the falling value of US currency.
The 111 new planes that would be delivered by 2011-end will be mostly used for replacing old aircraft, without resulting in any increase in the fleet size.
The additional order along with that for 111 planes already placed would make AI one of the biggest buyers of planes in the global market. The options for wide body aircraft include the Boeing 747, 777, 787 and Airbus A-380, 330 and 310. The narrow body options include the Boeing 737 and A-320 families. In addition, other manufacturers like Embraer and Bombardier will also being considered.
19/11/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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