Air India is eyeing to get a bank loan of over $200 million to buy Boeing 777 aircrafts from a US-based aircraft leasing company. The Tata Group airline, via its GIFT City-registered subsidiary, AI Fleet Services IFSC, has sought the loan to buy the planes, Bloomberg reported.
The discussion to raise the loan began earlier this year, but following the June 12 Air India Ahmedabad plane crash, the talks between the Tata Group airline and the US-based leasing firm had slowed down. Now nearly one month after the crash, the talks have reportedly revived. The pricing of the proposed loan might be reportedly linked to the benchmark Secured Overnight Financing Rate.
The development is likely to strengthen Air India’s bet to revive the airline and fuel its fleet expansion plan. The Tata Group airline, which has come under national and international scrutiny following the Ahmedabad plane crash last month, has been struggling to increase its fleet size due to supply chain disruptions that impacted the manufacturing and delivery of aircraft by giants like Boeing and Airbus.
Following Air India’s homecoming in January 2022, the carrier placed one of the biggest orders in the history of commercial aviation, with 570 aircraft with Airbus and Boeing in just three years. But due to delayed deliveries by the manufacturers, Air India chairman N Chandrasekaran’s dream to make the airline a ‘world-class’ has suffered.
“My commitment is to take every effort to make Air India, an absolute top-class airline in the world,” the Air India chairman earlier said at the NIT Trichy Global Alumni Meet in December, last year. “You all need to help me by pushing Boeing and Airbus to deliver me the planes,” Chandrasekaran added.
Till the time the new aircrafts aren’t delivered, the carrier is exploring ways to ensure it has enough planes in supply to ensure smooth operations. The ongoing talks with the US-based leasing company are reportedly a measure adopted by the Tata Group airline to carry out seamless operations.
