Tue, Apr 26, 2005
Air India Signs For As Many As 50 777s, 787s
What a difference a year makes. Boeing, stung by its position as
the world's SECOND biggest commercial aircraft maker, has been
working its sales force overtime, announcing two huge deals in just
two days.
Boeing Tuesday announced it had inked a deal with Air India for
up to 50 aircraft -- including 15 777-300ERs and 27 787
Dreamliners. The sticker value of the deal was $6.9 billion.
"It's an important customer and we're really happy to have them
on board," Mike Bair, vice president and general manager of the 787
program, said on a conference call, quoted by Reuters. "As the
Indian airlines start to deregulate, we're seeing a lot of stuff
starting to happen over there."
That deal was announced less than 24
hours after Air Canada announced it, too, would buy 32 777s and
787s from Boeing in an agreement worth $5 billion before
discounts.
But it was the Air India deal that was, perhaps, the most
surprising. Coming after the Bush administration agreed to sell
F-16s to Pakistan (India's long-time nemesis), the Boeing sale was
an indication that the Indians weren't as put off as had been
previously believed.
The Boeing order has to be seen as part of an overall push
toward a closer Indo-American strategic alliance," said Kapil Kaul,
head of the Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation in India, in a Reuters
interview. "It is a huge step forward for Air-India, which is in a
very vulnerable stage right now because of the increased
competition and I only hope the order sees the light of day
soon."
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