Air-India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a UK aircraft broker to lease out two of its Boeing 747 classics. Funds from the deal will help boost its Airbus A310 fleet.
The agreement covers the short term lease of two 747-200s to London Gatwick Air Charters. The airline expects the deal to be completed within two months. Air-India will use the cash generated to fund the lease of two additional A310 twinjets, adding to the nine in its fleet. These aircraft will be used to increase capacity on key routes, such as to Hong Kong, Manchester, Osaka and Singapore.
For the past year, the Indian carrier has been reducing its underused fleet of 747-200s and -300s, selling one -200 to US investment company Triton and the other to United Parcel Service. Air-India says it is finding it hard to get acceptable terms for these aircraft because of their age and the depressed state of the market.
The airline plans a fleet renewal by 2002. The carrier has been considering buying new mid-capacity long-range (MCLR) and small capacity long-range (SCLR) aircraft, but the procurement has been continually pushed back by economic and political troubles.
Types under consideration to meet the MCLR requirement are the Airbus A340 and Boeing 777, while the SCLR requirement, for a long-range aircraft in the 200-seat class, could be met by variants of the A330 or Boeing 767.
High capacity requirements will continue to be met by the fleet of six 747-400s.
Source: Flight International
