Air India Seeks to Lease 40 Airbus, Bombardier Planes

Air India Ltd., the operator of the nation’s flag carrier, has sought bids to lease as many as 40 Airbus SAS and Bombardier Inc. aircraft as it expands its fleet to benefit from rising air travel in the nation.
The carrier wants to lease 10 Airbus A320s, 10 A330s and as many as 20 CRJ-700 planes, according to tenders on its website. The Bombardier tender was posted on Jan. 14.
India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in December approved an infusion of 12 billion rupees ($263 million) in Air India in an attempt to turn around the airline. IndiGo, a New Delhi-based discount carrier, last week signed a preliminary agreement with Airbus to purchase 180 aircraft as economic growth stokes travel demand in the nation.
State-run Air India plans to expand its fleet to as many as 286 aircraft and connect 60 major cities, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in July. The airline has 135 passenger planes and nine cargo jets, according to its website.
Air India’s market share declined to 17.1 percent in November from 18.8 percent a year earlier, according to data provided by the ministry. The airline had long-term debt of 347.2 billion rupees in the fiscal year ended in March 2009, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told parliament in November.
17/01/11 Siddharth Philip/Bloomberg/Business Week

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Categories: Air India Jan 2011, Foreign Jan 2011, New Jan 2011