Mumbai: Air India Ltd. plans to raise in the next few months a short-term loan of about USD 500 million to purchase four Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes, a senior executive said, as the national carrier steps up pace to expand its international operations.
The airline will "call for proposals from banks for the bridge financing" soon, the executive said. . He didn't give any details.
A bridge loan is typically used to meet payment commitments in the near term until longer-term financing is arranged.
Air India expects to take delivery of six Dreamliner planes this financial year through March 2013, the first of which is likely to arrive by June. It has already tied up with Standard Chartered Bank to raise a similar loan of USD 195 million for the first two planes.
The airline ordered 27 Dreamliner planes from Boeing Co. in 2005. It was part of a USD 15 billion 111-plane contract placed to the US manufacturer and Airbus.
Air India is accelerating its fundraising plans after the Indian government last week approved a financial and operational plan to turn around the loss-making airline.
18/04/12 Zee News
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
0 comments:
Post a Comment