Air India says it would be operating its new Boeing-787 Dreamliner aircraft on key domestic routes, not abroad, to begin with. The first of these is to be inducted later this month, on routes such as Mumbai-Delhi. The objective is to enable pilots to get familiar with the aircraft and complete the required training to fly it. Last month, the Union government gave its go-ahead to AI to take delivery of 27 of these. The first two are expected to be delivered in three weeks and the third in June.
Later, the plan is to ply to Sydney/Melbourne (September onwards) and also the Frankfurt, Paris and London routes. The Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 planes in current use have seating capacity for 140-200. The Dreamliner will have 256 seats. Eight sets of pilots from AI are undergoing simulator training for the 787 in Singapore. They will be joined by another 10 from the erstwhile Indian Airlines, who will resume training from next week, following a bitter legal battle on pilot selection for the aircraft, which went to the Supreme Court.
A section of pilots is still agitating against the
management’s decision to select erstwhile IA pilots for the 787. According to
sources, a few pilots reported sick today, but an AI spokesperson said all
operations were normal.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ai-to-debut-dreamlinerdomestic-routes/473479/
Air India to deploy
Boeing 787 Dreamliner on domestic, short-haul routes
Air India’s domestic
passengers will also get to fly its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. In an
effort to build up enough crew resources, the airline plans to deploy the new
aircraft on domestic metro routes and short-haul international routes starting
from the second week of June. The proposed deployment on these routes will be
an interim measure and it would be wrong to say the aircraft will only operate
on domestic routes, a person familiar with the development said.
The decision could see the airline use the new aircraft to operate one of the scheduled return flights from Delhi to Mumbai and Hyderabad for about six to twelve weeks. The new aircraft is also likely to operate on short-haul international routes such as flights to Singapore and Dubai, sources added. The Dreamliner can typically carry between 210 and 250 passengers on routes of 14,200 km to 15,200 km, although the distance between the metros is a fraction of what the aircraft can fly, as per a report by Ashwini Phadnis in The Hindu Business Line.
Sources explained that training for crew is related to the number of landings they undertake on the aircraft. If the airline deploys the aircraft on international long-haul routes, such as operating to Europe, Australia and the US, the training process will become a long-drawn-out process.
The first of the 27 Boeing 787 aircraft is expected to join the fleet at the end of the month. The aircraft should enter into commercial service in the domestic skies about a week after arriving in India. Air India is the third global airline after All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines to receive the aircraft. Air India was to receive the first Boeing 787 aircraft in May 2008 but the delivery was delayed for a variety of reasons, including manufacturing delays.
The decision could see the airline use the new aircraft to operate one of the scheduled return flights from Delhi to Mumbai and Hyderabad for about six to twelve weeks. The new aircraft is also likely to operate on short-haul international routes such as flights to Singapore and Dubai, sources added. The Dreamliner can typically carry between 210 and 250 passengers on routes of 14,200 km to 15,200 km, although the distance between the metros is a fraction of what the aircraft can fly, as per a report by Ashwini Phadnis in The Hindu Business Line.
Sources explained that training for crew is related to the number of landings they undertake on the aircraft. If the airline deploys the aircraft on international long-haul routes, such as operating to Europe, Australia and the US, the training process will become a long-drawn-out process.
The first of the 27 Boeing 787 aircraft is expected to join the fleet at the end of the month. The aircraft should enter into commercial service in the domestic skies about a week after arriving in India. Air India is the third global airline after All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines to receive the aircraft. Air India was to receive the first Boeing 787 aircraft in May 2008 but the delivery was delayed for a variety of reasons, including manufacturing delays.
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