Trying to deny reports of looming financial distress and management issues, Air India is trying to get back on its beet and is in the process of negotiating a deal with Air Canada for the lease of five of its Boeing 777-200 aircrafts.
According to the airline sources, the discusses with Canada's national airlines t lease out these aircraft has begun and soon a team of officials from Air India are going to visit Canada, to carry forth discussions of the terms of contract, that shall include the leasing cost etc. According to another report by the PTI, the deal may be finalized as early as within the next two or three weeks.
Air Canada is Canada's premium airline service also the largest in the country and a founding member of the Star Alliance. The airline serves over 180 destinations in five continents and also operates a regional service under the name of Air Canada Express. According to the airlines' website, the Canadian flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world owning a combined fleet of 362 aircrafts, which contain a mix of Boeings, Airbus and Embraer aircrafts.
The state run Air India had floated global tenders earlier this year, offering five of its eight Boeing 777-200 LRS on a lease for around 8-10 years. Out of the eight aircrafts owned by the Airline Company four were manufacture in the year 2007, one in 2008 and the rest three in 2009.
The decision of leasing out these Boeing 777s had come in the backdrop of the planning of the induction of new Boeing 787 Dreamliners in to its fleet of aircrafts, the first of which is expected to arrive sometime early next month.