Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner to start operations next week

NEW DELHI: Air India’s newly inducted Boeing 787 Dreamliner will start flying on domestic routes from next Wednesday and begin international flights from winter to Europe and Australia.

AI, which faced an over four-year delay in delivery of this aircraft, is scheduled to get five more Dreamliners by the year-end and then the remaining 22 by 2016.

Aviation minister Ajit Singh has told AI that with the government clearing its plan to acquire the fuel-efficient Dreamliners, AI should now look at flying into profitability.

Dreamliner is supposed to be 15 per cent more fuel efficient than other aircraft of its class ( Airbus A-330).

“We hope the Dreamliner will take AI back to the good old Maharajah days... It (AI) has to take aggressive cost-cutting measures. With today’s fiscal constraints, the government cannot afford to give any more money,” Singh said.

The Centre in April cleared a $5.7 billion bailout package for AI that has accumulated debts of $8.3 billion.