State-run carrier Air India will seek “at least Rs 200 crore” from Boeing Co. to compensate for the losses it incurred due to the grounding of its 787 aircraft, said a senior Air India executive familiar with the matter said. Air India has six 787 aircraft in its fleet.
While the compensation is yet to be finalised, the carrier will raise the claim with Boeing shortly, said the official. G. Prasada Rao, a spokesman at Mumbai-based Air India, did not respond to calls made to his mobile phone. Boeing, too, did not immediately respond to an e-mail questionnaire.
Air India might resume local flights of the 787 later this month after the plane maker carries out safety modifications to the plane’s batteries, said the official. Air India used to fly its 787s on three domestic and three international routes. It is now using narrow-body Airbus A320s on the domestic sector and has deployed Boeing 777s on the Frankfurt and Paris routes. Due to non-availability of trained Boeing 777 pilots, the airline was forced to cancel or combine flights to Europe and Tokyo.
01/04/13 Business Standard
