| Wednesday, January 31, 2007 |
| Air India's aircraft shopping plans move ahead |
National carrier Air India’s plans to buy Boeing aircraft has received another boost with a team from the company all set to fly to Washington to formalise the documentation for availing itself of a $6-billion loan from the US Exim Bank.
A report said that the delegation will work on preparing all operative documents for Air India and Air India Express including the master lease agreement that would see the aircraft being leased to a Special Purpose Vehicle from which they would join the respective airlines.
The report added that the loan constitutes about 85 per cent of the cost of the aircraft with the airline tying up the rest of finances from commercial banks. The formalisation of the documentation would help Air India get the first tranche of $1.4 billion loan for acquiring 17 aircraft including 10 Boeing 737-800 and seven Boeing 777 air.
It may be recalled that in year 2005, the airline board approved a proposal to acquire 68 Boeing aircraft including 27 Boeing 787, 8 B 777-200 Long Range and 15 B777-300 extended range aircraft and 18 Boeing 737-800 aircraft for its arm Air India Express.
Significantly, Air India is purchasing aircraft after a gap of more than 10 years. While the Boeing 737-800 aircraft will be used by Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary, the other aircraft being purchased will be operated on existing and new routes.Labels: Business |
| posted by a correspondent @ 10:31 AM |
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