New Delhi: Etihad Airways and a German aircraft lessor are separately bidding for five of the world’s longest-range jetliners from Air India Ltd, which has scaled back plans to expand nonstop flights to North America. A person familiar with the matter said on Friday that the two bids are being evaluated by Air India and will be submitted to its board for approval.
The person, who declined to name the German company, added that Cameroon Airlines Corp, which had earlier expressed an interest in the five planes, didn’t submit a bid.
The Indian flag carrier put the five Boeing 777-200 Longer-Range planes up for sale, as high jet fuel prices and weak demand from Indian travellers forced it to ditch plans to operate some nonstop long-distance flights to North America. It tried to lease the planes in 2011 but found few takers.
The airline has eight 777-200LR planes, part of its fleet of 108 planes. The 777s entered the airline’s fleet in 2007 and 2008 as it targeted ultra-long-haul flights from India to the US West Coast. But Air India soon found that many Indian passengers opted for cheaper flights to the US that would include a stopover in Europe or the Middle East instead of paying a premium for the nonstop services.
A 777-200LR, which Boeing calls the Worldliner, can fly up to 17,395 kilometres with a full payload of 301 passengers, according to the aircraft manufacturer. The plane remains the longest-range passenger jet ever built.
Fuel prices
Boeing launched the model in the early part of the last decade as demand for very long range nonstop travel soared, but surging fuel prices made operating such flights unprofitable. Boeing only sold a handful of the 777-200LRs, even though its overall 777 programme is among its most successful ever.
The person familiar with the situation didn’t give a value of the bids submitted by Etihad and the German firm. A brand-new 777-200LR has a list price of $296 million (Dh1.08 billion), though analysts expect the planes to sell for a very substantial discount. The person said he expects the entire process to take a few months and would need approval from India’s civil aviation ministry.
Thomas Clarke, a spokesman for Etihad, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Air India is replacing the 777-200LRs, which are less efficient to operate on shorter routes, with the more modern and less fuel thirsty Boeing 787. The airline ordered 27 of the 787s and has so far received eight.
— Dow Jones Newswires
