New wings for A-I Charters

The board of Air-India Charters, the low-cost arm of national carrier Air-India, today approved the purchase of 18 Boeing 737-800W aircraft. The decision to purchase was taken at the airline's board meeting held in Delhi.

The new Boeing fleet will replace those being taken on lease by Air-India Charters for starting its low-cost operations, Air-India Express, which would come into being from April 2005, an Air-India spokesperson said.

Air India Charters submitted its purchase plans, as also the project report on the low-cost airline plans, to the ministry of civil aviation for approval.

The Air-India board had last year approved the purchase of the aircraft for its own use but after the creation of the low-cost carrier, which will serve destinations in the Gulf and Southeast Asia, the project report was revised.

The Air-India spokesman, however, refused to comment on the proposed investment in acquiring these planes. "The negotiation process with the aircraft manufacturer will start only after getting the necessary project approvals from the regulatory authorities," he told Business Standard.

The national carrier's growth has been hampered by its ageing fleet and the lack of adequate capacity to meet the growing demand, primarily in the most lucrative markets such as the US and Europe. The airline has been planning an over Rs 10,000 crore fleet acquisition for around two years now.