Air-India is seeking to sell its surplus inventory of Boeing 707 spare parts which it had phased out almost 15 years back.
The airline, which currently has a stock of over 4 lakh spare parts of various descriptions for the Boeing 707 at its warehouses, has called for tenders from global bidders for its sale.
An official spokesperson of the airline confirmed the development but declined to state the stock's worth. Industry experts see the move as one to rake in as much funds as possible prior to its divestment.
However, as Boeing has long since stopped production of the Boeing 707 aircraft, industry sources feel there may not be any serious interest for the spares.
Airline officials said the reason for Air-India's high inventory level was the high average age of its fleet. Older aircraft, while requiring high maintenance and fuel costs, can operate for fewer hours a day, they said.
Currently, the average age of Air-India fleet is around 13.5 years, which is much more when compared to that of most international airlines.
The airline, currently, has 27 aircraft in its fleet, consisting of Boeing 747-200s, 300s and 400s, in addition to Airbus A310s and A300-B4s, of which the Boeing 747-200s are the oldest with an average age of 21 years, while the youngest is the Boeing 747-400, with an average age of over six years.
