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This was formally told to the US-based company
by the civil aviation ministry in a letter May
28.
"We have sent them a letter yesterday (Monday)
evening stating our intent to know what kind of
compensation package they are willing to offer,"
a senior Air India official told IANS.
According to the official, any compensation will
not come directly to the airline but will be deducted
from the total cost of the aircraft.
"There will be a deduction procedure that
we have discussed. Compensation will be deducted
from the overall cost of the aircraft."
The official further said that the airline has
proposed a mechanism through which the compensation
will be decided. The mechanism will focus on delay
in delivery of individual aircraft.
"We do not want a lump sum for all 27 aircraft.
As we now know that the total batch of 27 aircraft
will be delayed in a varying manner, where first
batch may come as soon as June while others may
be stuck."
The official added that a team of engineers who
are currently in the US for testing the aircraft
will be called back, if the airline does not receives
any response from Boeing in the coming days.
When contacted, Boeing refused to give any details.
"We do not comment about compensation in
public.. The first 787 is ready for delivery.
We are waiting to deliver the first plane to Air
India," Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president
(sales), Boeing Commercial Airplanes, India and
Asia Pacific, told IANS over the phone from the
US.
"The aircraft is already certified by Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) and we expect the
aircraft to arrive soon in India."
The American Export Import Bank (ExIm) had given
loan guarantees worth $3.3 billion to the carrier
for buying 27 aircraft from Boeing.
Earlier in the day, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit
Singh said Air India would not take delivery of
its first batch of Boeing 787 Dreamliner until
both the airline and the aircraft manufacturer
decide upon the compensation package for the delay.
"We will not be in a position to take delivery
of the aircraft, as the compensation package for
the delay in the delivery of the plane has not
been decided as of now," Singh told reporters.
According to Singh, Air India's board has decided
a compensation amount and is seeking legal opinion
on how to go about obtaining the same.
The national carrier had ordered 27 Boeing 787
aircraft in 2005-06. However, the first batch
of two aircraft would only be delivered at the
end of this month.
Overall the delivery of the aircraft has been
delayed by three years causing the airline to
lose several opportunities to deploy the aircraft
on long haul international routes.
The minister said all possible legal recourse
were available to the airline including that of
arbitration.
The development comes a day after the airline's
board in a meeting here decided a ballpark figure
of $750-$800 million from Boeing for the delay
in the delivery of the aircraft..
(IANS)
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