National carrier Air India may soon ask for compensation from US aviation giant Boeing for precious flight hours lost due to recent snags in the swanky new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. A team from Boeing arrived in India last week and the airline may raise this issue with the aircraft manufacturer.
“Compensation may soon be sought from Boeing on account of the recent snags in the Dreamliners. Flight hours were lost due to this. The issue of prompt availability of spare parts is also being looked at,” well-placed government sources told this newspaper. Highly-placed sources in Air India also confirmed that the airline was considering asking Boeing for compensation.
Unhappy with the performance of the swanky new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft due to “recurring technical snags”, a furious civil aviation ministry and Air India had recently summoned senior Boeing officials to India.
Upset over the snags in the few “factory-fresh” dreamliners that Air India has taken possession of, government sources had earlier said the civil aviation ministry and Air India were worried since such snags could adversely affect the operations of Air India.
Air India is already expecting compensation from Boeing on another issue relating to the long delay in the delivery schedule of the Dreamliners. The airline had earlier ordered for a total of 27 Boeing 787 dreamliner aircraft. The first of the aircraft was inducted amid much fanfare in the national carrier only in September 2012. These aircraft were earlier ordered for their formidable reputation of being one of the most fuel-efficient aircraft in the aviation market.
Air India had initially deployed the aircraft for important domestic routes so that pilots could complete more landings and take-offs with the aircraft. But international flights on the Dreamliner to Frankfurt and Dubai have also started.