New Delhi:
The much-awaited Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which is likely to be inducted by Air India in May, today landed here after flying non-stop 14 hours from Seattle, the company said.
The Dreamliner would help significantly reduce fuel consumption as it would "provide both long distance capabilities with mid-size capacity", Boeing claimed.
The 787 would be on static display in New Delhi before debuting at India Aviation 2012 in Hyderabad on March 14.
"We're proud to bring the world's most advanced commercial airplane to India, especially when it proudly displays the colours of national flag carrier Air India," Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement.
According to sources, the first Dreamliner plane is likely to be inducted only in May after it gets operational and technical certifications from the US Federal Aviation Administration, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and other agencies. Air India has ordered a total of 27 of these aircraft.
The delivery of the Dreamliner has been delayed for almost three years for which Air India has sought a hefty compensation from the manufacturing company.
The government wants the compensation issue to be sorted out before Air India starts inducting them.
Facing financial trouble, Air India has decided to sell and leaseback the first seven of the 27 planes it has ordered and is looking for bridge financing worth USD 230 million.
Under leaseback arrangement, one party sells a property to a buyer who immediately leases it back to the seller, allowing the initial buyer to make full use of the asset while not having capital tied up in it.