Patel wants 60 more aircraft for Air India

Unions boycott launch of new fleet to protest the merger of Indian Airlines and Air-India.

The civil aviation ministry will soon submit a proposal to the Planning Commission for buying 60 aircraft of different capacities for Air India, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said. These will be apart from the 111 aircraft the orders for which have been placed.

Addressing a gathering at the launch of five aircraft of the new Air India fleet, Patel urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was the chief guest, to support the national carrier's purchase of more aircraft. "If we have to look ahead for growth, we will have to revisit the entire fleet requirement. I will urge the government and the prime minister to look into this aspect," Patel said.

The five aircraft that were launched today are B777-200 LR for long range, B 737-800 and A321 for passenger services, and A310 and B 737 for freighter services.

The erstwhile Air-India and Indian Airlines, which were merged to form Air India, had placed orders for 111 aircraft. The combined investment on this is projected to be around Rs 45,000 crore. Investment on another 60 aircraft is estimated to be around Rs 28,000 crore.

Patel said the aviation sector would generate 2 million jobs in the next ten years. Referring to the recent opposition by the India Airlines' unions against the merger, Patel said, "The interest of the employees of the two carriers in terms of career growth and seniority will be protected."

Launching the new fleet, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "This has been by far the largest procurement of aircraft by any airline in the country."

Asking the carriers to ensure world-class service, he said, "I want you to focus your attention on better service quality and better customer care.Our airports, our airlines and all related systems must have world-class standards."

All eight staff unions of Indian Airlines, which are opposing the merger of the national carriers, boycotted the launch.

"Not even one member among the eight unions was present at the launch of the Air India fleet today. We boycotted it as a sign of protest against the merger, which we are strongly opposing," said JB Kadyan, convenor of the eight unions and the general secretary of Air Corporation Employees Union.