Air India Not to Seek Compensation from Boeing for Delayed Deliveries of 6 Dreamliner Aircraft

Boeing has delayed deliveries of six Dreamliner aircraft to Air India by more than two years and the airline has decided not to seek compensation. "The deliveries will now begin from November 2016 and go on till August 2018," said a senior Air India official, who did not want to be identified. According to the earlier schedule, deliveries were to start from July 2015 and go on till March 2016.

The state-owned airline currently operates a fleet of 21 Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner aircraft, which were delivered after a delay of over three years. Boeing's compensation was questioned by a Parliamentary committee, which said the airline was paid only for a delay of 180 days.

Air India is not claiming any compensation for the delay in deliveries of these six aircraft.

"The board did discuss the issue of compensation for delay in deliveries but it was finally decided that the compensation would not be sought because the airline has not made any pre-delivery payment for the aircraft," the official said.

AI's Dreamliners have experienced a series of malfunctions since their debut in 2011. According to official data, as many as 136 technical glitches were recorded in the aircraft between September 2012 and November 2013.

"As it is, the aircraft is giving us problems and now the delay. We should have claimed compensation for the delay in aircraft," said another senior official. An analyst said the airline can utilise the delay in delivery to stabilise the operations of its Dreamliner fleet.

Air India not to seek compensation from Boeing for delayed deliveries of 6 Dreamliner aircraft "Air India's operation with its current 21 Boeing 787 Dreamliners is increasingly getting stable. Inducting a new aircraft mandates a planning process which may include stocking of additional spares, equipping a base to service the new aircraft type, assign and train additional human capital. The delay in deliveries of the Boeing 787 may be seen as a strategic move as the airline will like to be operationally ready before they start accepting in more," said Mark D Martin, founder & CEO of Martin Consulting.

The Air India management had also considered options such as replacing the six pending Boeing 787-800s with five bigger Boeing 787-900s. The proposal was not approved by the board on the ground that the loss of one aircraft for a bigger version did not make sense.

Boeing officials will meet Air India chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani on Monday and are likely to discuss the glitches with the Dreamliners and deliveries of three 777-300 aircraft that the airline has decided to induct after keeping it pending for long.