Air India will take delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft by end 2011, the President, Boeing India, Dr Dinesh Keskar, said on Wednesday.
The State-owned carrier was originally to have taken delivery of it first Boeing 787 aircraft in May 2008.
Dr Keskar, however, did not disclose when the remaining 26 Boeing 787 aircraft ordered by the airline will be delivered.
“Pilot training for the (Air India) aircraft will begin next month,” Dr Keskar added.
Delivery of the Boeing 787 to Jet Airways will begin in 2014, the Boeing India President said.
Jet Airways, the only other airline from India to order the aircraft, is to take delivery in 2014.
Jet has ordered 10 aircraft.
Aircraft demand rising
Boeing predicts that India will require 1,320 new aircraft valued at $150 billion over the next 20 years.
“In the last one year, there has been an increase of $20 billion in the number of aircraft India will require over the next 20 years. “This is primarily because of growth in GDP, development of infrastructure and increase in the number of people willing to fly - be it for vacation or rest and recreation,” Dr Keskar said.
The American aircraft manufacturer estimates that almost 81 per cent of the aircraft that India will require will be single aisle ones such as Boeing 737s or Airbus A-320s. “Twin aisle aircraft like the Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Airbus A-330 and A-350 will make up 16 per cent of the Indian market,” Dr Keskar said.