Air-India is planning to acquire two more aircraft - an Airbus A-310 and a larger Boeing 747-400 - on dry lease for three years.
These aircraft, which will be used to support the airline's expansion plans in the Asia-Pacific and Gulf countries, will be in addition to the three A-310s that the airline had recently acquired and A-310 which is likely to join the fleet any time now.
The airline has put up tender notices for acquiring the two aircraft on its official website. With this purchase, A-I's fleet size will improve to a more respectable figure of 29. It may be recalled that till recently, Air-India only had a fleet of 23 aircraft, the lowest in the world for an airline of its size.
However, industry sources said the airline will need more medium capacity long-range (MCLR) aircraft to operate direct flights to many parts of Europe, North America and Australia to regain its market share, which has steadily been declining over the years.
Currently, A-I has code-share arrangements in place with eleven airlines. Also, the government has in recent times started offering bilateral rights to third-party international airlines on a retrievable basis, which will rake in royalty payments for A-I without having to operate its own aircraft.
It is expected that following the ongoing disinvestment process of the airline, the new management will infuse funds for acquisition of newer aircraft for its turnaround. Earlier, the government, citing paucity of funds, had decided against the acquisition of 13 aircraft as per the Ninth Five Year Plan suggestions.
Currently, A-I's fleet consists of 26 aircraft - B747-200s (four), B747-300 combi (two), B747-400s (six), A300B4s (three) and A310-300s (eleven) - excluding the A310 that will soon be joining the fleet.
