In-Debt Air India Still Wants its 27 Dreamliners

Despite their debt and cash flow problems, Air India still wants to take delivery of 27 Boeing 787s, the airplane builder’s latest marvel.

Air India had originally placed the order with Boeing for 787 'Dreamliner' back in 2005, when the Indian carrier was doing better financially. But now with the airline struggling and in the middle of a government bailout plan, said government is only comfortable allowing the airline to take delivery of 14 787s.

Air India is saying that getting all the planes they ordered is important for the airline going forward:

“Dreamliners are a prominent part of our turnaround plan and we want all 27 aircraft to join our fleet. This aircraft will be able to fill the much needed requirement of a medium-haul fleet,” said a senior Air India official, who did not want to be identified.

Air India is also asking Boeing to knock off as much as $1 Billion dollars off their purchase price of the Dreamliners because of significant delays in having the new planes ready.
Reports say the government will decide soon on how many of the 787s they take.

Personally, I wouldn’t give them all 27 planes. Show me you can get back in the black first and then you can have some planes!

Report: Air India May Sell All 27 Boeing 787s it Ordered to Raise Cash-UPDATE

UPDATE – March 20, 2012:
Air India is now saying they intend to keep the 787s they ordered instead of sell them:
“It should be a good plane for Air India. We are not cutting on any orders,” Ajit Singh, India’s aviation minister said on Tuesday.

Air India has been strapped for cash and dealing with debt problems.
I would think it’ll be a good plane Ajit. :)
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Debt-ridden Indian airline Air India is considering selling the 27 Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliners’ it has ordered but not received to raise much needed cash.

‘The profits from the sale, if the proposal is cleared, could make AI richer by over Rs 7,200 crore [or $1.45 Billion US], equivalent to a third of its accumulated losses pegged at Rs 20,000 crore. After a delay of over three years, Boeing is expected to deliver seven Dreamliners this year. The move would also help AI to shore up its balance sheet.’

Air India originally ordered the airliners in 2005, and was the second airline to place an order with Boeing for the revolutionary plane. But the 787 has been beset by delays and has pushed back deliveries to most customers by as much as 3 years.
One official in the civil aviation ministry (India) says that another reason for selling the Dreamliners aside from raising the much needed capital would be that the new aircraft have had numerous ‘technical problems’.
If the carrier chooses to keep the planes, the plus would be that the 787 is the perfect fit for the medium-haul routes the airline has:

“We are operating medium-haul sectors with long-haul planes or short-haul planes, ultimately making many routes unprofitable for us,” said a senior AI official.
Don’t forget that Air India is negotiating a $1 Billion dollar 'rebate' from Boeing for delaying delivery of its Dreamliners.

At first glance, one might think ‘wow…you haven’t even received the planes and now you want to sell them.’ At second glance, they haven’t received the planes! Boeing has seen delay after delay so Air India is entitled to do what it wants. However, I think a move like this would negate any rebate back to Air India for late delivery…

Air France-KLM Orders 25 Boeing 787 Dreamliners Worth 5 Billion-UPDATE

Although not officially announced, multiple sources are reporting that Air France-KLM has ordered 25 of Boeing’s newest passenger airliner, the 787 Dreamliner.

Air France - KLM, which is Europe’s largest airline, agreed to the order in September of 2011. The list value of the order is about $5 billion dollars. Air France-KLM already has orders from Airbus that it made last year as well:

‘The Dreamliners were part of a split order at Air France, with the carrier saying in September it also would buy 25 Airbus SAS A350s, a 787 competitor set to reach customers in 2014. Stefan Schaffrath, a spokesman for Toulouse, France-based Airbus, declined to say whether that order had been signed.

Deliveries of the Boeing and Airbus jets in that purchase were set to start in 2016, with Dutch unit KLM getting the first arrivals, according to an airline statement in September. The company said at the time that the deal was “still subject to the finalization of discussions with the manufacturers.”

The 787 is the first passenger jet to be made of mostly composite plastic material. Delays with production of the aircraft had put it behind schedule by as much as 3 years.
Such a beautiful aircraft. Looking forward to flying on one (as well as the A380…I haven’t forgotten you Airbus *wink*). Has anyone flown the 787 yet? Let us know below.

UPDATE:

Tuesday, January 10th this was confirmed by Boeing. The order is for 25 787s (for now) worth an estimated $6 billion dollars.

Boeing and Airbus Ramping Up 787 and A330 Production

Boeing and Airbus both said this week that they will ramp up the rate of production of their 787 (Boeing) and the A330 (Airbus).

Boeing has had to contend with manufacturing issues and delays on the 787 but the plane maker says they are on track to fix the issues and they expect to build 787s at a rate of 10 a month by the end of the year:

“Our customers are demanding our products like never before,” Jeff Klemann, vice president of the delivery center, said in a company statement. “As we build more airplanes at faster and faster rates, we also need a world-class facility to conduct our delivery operations.”

Airbus A330

Airbus, on the other hand, has a plane that is quite ‘seasoned’ in the A330 and plans to up production of their mid-to-long range jetliner to 11 a month by the first part of 2014.

Japan Airlines Confirms Delivery of its First Boeing 787 on March 25th

JAL's first Boeing 787 sits at Boeing

Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced that they will take delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner when they go to pick it up at Boeing’s Paine Field in Seattle.

Pilots from JAL will fly the new airliner out of Paine Field to Tokyo Narita Airport where it will start non-stop service between Boston and Tokyo Narita on April 22nd:

“We’re grateful and delighted that delivery of our first 787 has been confirmed,” President Yoshiharu Ueki told reporters. “Bookings for the Boston route next month are almost full.”
JAL’s new 787 will feature 144 economy class seats and 42 business class seats.

JAL is only the second customer to take delivery of Boeing’s newest jet (All Nippon Airways [ANA] is the first).

Economy Class Cabin:

JAL Boeing 787 Economy Cabin

Executive Class Cabin:

JAL Boeing 787 Executive Class Cabin

Images: Boeing

JAL Increases Boeing 787 Order to 45 Dreamliners

Japan Airlines (JAL) has increased their order of Boeing’s newest jet, the 787 Dreamliner, to 45 total aircraft in an announcement by the Japanese carrier this week.

JAL has added to its order 10 of the larger 787-9 airliners. They are also changing 10 of their initial 35 787-8s (smaller model) to the larger 787-9.

They have also agreed on an option to purchase 20 more 787s.

JAL plans to invest $6.3 billion dollars on upgrading its fleet over the next 5 years and will take delivery of its first Dreamliner sometime next month.

Hairline cracks ground Air New Zealand’s ATR 72-500s

Air New Zealand grounded its entire fleet of ATR 72-500 turboprops on 18 March after discovering hairline cracks around the cockpit windows of one aircraft.
Two of the carrier's 11 ATR 72-500s were quickly inspected and returned to service within hours, ANZ says.
Three aircraft require closer examination, five are "well-advanced" in the inspection process and one aircraft was in already grounded for planned maintenance, the Star Alliance carrier says.
The 68-seat ATR 72-500s, which are operated by Mount Cook Airline, are 10.9 years old on average.
Starting on Monday, ANZ will supplement Mount Cook Airline with some aircraft from the mainline fleet to restore two-thirds of the regional carrier's seating capacity.
The cracks were discovered during routine maintenance a Mount Cook Airline's base at Christchurch Airport.
Two years ago, ANZ moved heavy maintenance work for Mount Cook Airline's ATR 72 fleet from Christchurch to Nelson, the home of sister regional carrier and Bombardier Q300 operator Air Nelson.

source: flightglobal.com

Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner celebrated in Long Beach

California Governor Jerry Brown, left, finishes a tour of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner with Bob Ciesla, Vice President and Program Manager for the C-17 Globemaster, at Long Beach Airport on March 14, 2012. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, left, and Congresswoman Janice Hahn (CA-36) check out the cockpit of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Long Beach Airport on March 14, 2012. The plane is visiting the Boeing facility in Long Beach, Calif., as part of its Dream Tour. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)

LONG BEACH — Until Wednesday, the closest Matthew Daines had been to the new Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner was with computer drawings of the commercial airplane.

For the past few years, the Long Beach-based engineer had been traveling to Everett, Wash., to work on the dream project.

"We got to size and design the structural parts of the airplane, whether it be the fuselage, the wing, the horizontal stabilizer," said Daines, who also works on the C-17 military aircraft produced in Long Beach. "You work on your section and interface with other sections, but you don't ever really get to see it put together until today. ... It gives you a real sense of pride and accomplishment. It's an amazing feeling."

Dozens of Boeing employees who worked on the 787 commercial airplane project got to see the end result of their handiwork Wednesday, joining state, local and Boeing officials to celebrate and tour the 787 Dreamliner at the C-17 plant in Long Beach.

The stop in Long Beach is part of the 787's six-month Dream Tour, which continues in Salt Lake City today.

With the C-17 and the 787 nose-to-nose in the backdrop, Bob Ciesla, vice president and C-17 program manager, called the event "a historic day in aviation history."

"Today, we celebrate a continuation of Boeing's rich aerospace legacy in Southern California that began more than 90 years ago," he said.

Among those in attendance was Gov. Jerry Brown, who made a quick remark about the 787 program, which was launched in April 2004.

"It's putting California right out in front and keeping America No. 1 in world aviation," Brown said.

Mike Fleming, vice president of 787 services and support, said the company set out many years ago to create an airplane that was quieter, 20 percent more fuel-efficient and more passenger-friendly.

LED lighting that changes color according to the time of day lines the high ceilings of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Long Beach Airport on March 14, 2012. The plane is visiting the Boeing facility in Long Beach, Calif., as part of it's Dream Tour. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)

 

"We needed the best of the best to be able to accomplish those things," he said. "Together, we pulled from all across the Boeing corporation, along with our partners all across the world, to go achieve that, and we brought that to market today with the 787."

Fleming thanked the California workers and suppliers who contributed to the creation of the Dreamliner.

Nearly 300 Long Beach engineers worked full-time on the 787, the first mid-size, fuel-efficient airplane capable of flying long-range routes.

"I went up to Everett, and saw these planes being tested, and sometimes it was just a wing," said Sheri Festa, a structural analyst in Long Beach. "To see it all put together here is unbelievable."

The 787 Dreamliner showcases the latest in airplane technology and design. Features include larger windows, electronic dimming system to adjust the amount of light entering the cabin and mood lighting to help passengers adjust their body clocks according to the change in time zones. Cabin pressure is 2,000 feet closer to ground level and the air purification system is cleaner and healthier.

Fifty-nine customers from six continents have placed orders for 870 airplanes valued at over $178 billion, making it the most successful twin-aisle launch of a new commercial airplane in Boeing's history,  according to Boeing.

Boeing employee Dwight Wilson checks out the front landing gear of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Long Beach Airport on March 14, 2012. The plane is visiting the Boeing facility in Long Beach, Calif., as part of it's Dream Tour. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)

 

"I definitely think this is the future," said pilot Captain William Mnich. "And I think the marketplace seems to agree that this is hitting a real sweet spot in the need for a long-range airplane that hauls comfortably 230 to 240 passengers over a long distance.

We can connect almost any two cities on earth within 8,000 miles of each other and I think there's a lot of room in that market right now in the world."

source:  http://www.dailybreeze.com/business/ci_20175482/boeing-co-787-dreamliner-celebrated-long-beach