American plane maker Boeing is reportedly trying to offload 737 MAX jets previously set aside for Chinese customers to Air India, according to media reports. Bloomberg reported that about 140 aircraft are gathering dust because China has prevented Boeing from making the deliveries due to trade tensions with the United States.
Air India, which was recently acquired by the Tata Group in India, is in talks with lessors and manufacturers to renew its fleet. A Boeing representative declined to comment. Air India didn’t respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours, according to the Bloomberg report.
Bloomberg reported that the aircraft could be sold on an “as-is” basis, which means the buyers would be responsible for repainting them and installing their own cabin equipment, said the person, who asked not to be identified sharing details of confidential discussions. Air India has sought to order as many as 300 narrowbody aircraft to revamp its fleet following the takeover by Tata, India’s largest conglomerate, Bloomberg reported.
Air India is reported to be in ongoing discussions with both Airbus and Boeing for aircraft orders that would expand its current fleet by three-fold. Air India’s narrowbody fleet currently includes 68 all-Airbus aircraft, consisting of the Airbus A319s, A320-200s, A320neos, and the A321-200s. The airlines has 43 widebodies in an all-Boeing fleet including Boeing 777s and the Boeing 787s.
Chief Financial Officer of Air India, Vinod Hejmadi, said in an Indian media report that the airline was currently in the “taxiing phase”, adding “In the Air India transformation journey, we are looking for, in the next five years, a 30 percent market share, and we are planning to grow our aircraft fleet three times what we currently have. We look forward to increasing the capacity for growth and discussions with aircraft manufacturers that are going on to acquire a more extensive fleet.”
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