New Delhi: The over 25-year-old fleet of jumbo jets used for distant overseas tours of Presidents and Prime Ministers is not going to be replaced by brand new planes. In a bid to avoid spending millions on mint fresh planes, the Modi government has decided to take two Boeing 777s which are already flying with Air India.
AI has 15 B-777s in its fleet. "Two of the youngest B-777 300 extended range (ER) aircraft from this fleet will be transferred to the defence ministry by October 1. These two planes joined our fleet in 2010 and have been flying with us almost five years. The defence authorities along with Boeing will retrofit these planes as India's very own Air Force One," said a senior official.
Defence authorities will give the written down value of these planes, estimated to be $100-105 million each, to AI, which will in turn use the money to pay off the aircraft loan for these two aircraft.
The NDA's decision to go in for AI's used planes as the next Air Force One — VVIP flights operated by Indian Air Force using AI pilots of B-777 will no longer be AI One — comes even as the government had the option to go in for brand new B-777s for VVIP use.
11/06/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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AI has 15 B-777s in its fleet. "Two of the youngest B-777 300 extended range (ER) aircraft from this fleet will be transferred to the defence ministry by October 1. These two planes joined our fleet in 2010 and have been flying with us almost five years. The defence authorities along with Boeing will retrofit these planes as India's very own Air Force One," said a senior official.
Defence authorities will give the written down value of these planes, estimated to be $100-105 million each, to AI, which will in turn use the money to pay off the aircraft loan for these two aircraft.
The NDA's decision to go in for AI's used planes as the next Air Force One — VVIP flights operated by Indian Air Force using AI pilots of B-777 will no longer be AI One — comes even as the government had the option to go in for brand new B-777s for VVIP use.
11/06/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
