Government decision on sale of Air India's Boeing 777 aircraft to Etihad soon: report

The sale of five long-haul Boeing 777 aircraft of Air India to Etihad Airways is likely to come up before the Union Cabinet for approval soon, official sources said on Tuesday.

Air India had earlier this month finalised its deal with the Abu Dhabi-based carrier, which has picked up a 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways worth over Rs 2,000 crore.

Though both Air India and Etihad are tight-lipped about the deal size, it is estimated that Air India could get $300-350 million through the sale of five of these wide-body Boeing 777-200 LR (long range) planes, having an average age of six years.

The approval of the Union Cabinet is required to finalise the deal, the sources said. The money would be utilised by Air India to partly pay off its debt as part of its turnaround plan, they said.

The two airlines had signed a letter of intent in October for an undisclosed amount, which was later approved by the national carrier's board.

Deliveries of these aircraft to Etihad are likely to start around March-April next year, the sources said. Etihad has already announced plans to deploy them on long-haul routes like Abu Dhabi-Los Angeles from June next year.

Each of these planes would be re-fitted in a three-class configuration consistent with Etihad's fleet. The purchase comes as Etihad finalises a new fleet order to meet its organic growth and expansion requirements till 2025.

The Boeing 777-200 LRs have a design range of 17,370 km, which could allow Etihad to connect almost any city in the world from its Abu Dhabi hub.

Air India, saddled under huge debt, had put eight of these aircraft for sale, but as there were no takers earlier, it had to issue the tender twice.