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Air India looking to Bombardier for expansion
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Air India looking to Bombardier for expansion
Air India's regional carrier Alliance Air is looking to expand its fleet by leasing 40 planes, including up to 20 Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jets.
January 17, 2011 By The Canadian Press
Jan. 17, 2011, Montreal – Air India's regional carrier Alliance Air is
looking to expand its fleet by leasing 40 planes, including up to 20
Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jets.
The airline has requested tenders to lease up to 20 planes from Airbus and an equal number from Bombardier as it prepares for increased travel demand within the world's largest democracy.
Airline Allied Services Ltd., a subsidiary of Air India, currently has four CRJ-700 planes in its fleet.
It is seeking to lease 16 aircraft, but would consider new leases or sub-lease for the existing four planes, according to a tender
call on its website.
While it prefers new planes, the airline would consider aircraft built after Jan. 1, 2010. The deadline for submitting bids has been extended with the opening of technical bids taking place Jan. 24.
The leases would be for five years, but can be extended by two years.
The 70-seat planes would be configured in a single economy class. They would be expected to fly routes on average 90 minutes in duration and for a total of 2,500 block hours per year.
The planes could be delivered starting in the third quarter of 2011.
The airline also wants to lease 10 Airbus A320s and 10 A330s.
Discount carrier IndiGo last week signed a preliminary agreement to purchase 180 Airbus aircraft.
