(a) whether the offer of the Boeing Aircraft Co. to provide jet on dry lease was rejected because the configuration was not found to be suitable;
(b) if so, whether Boeing Aircraft Co. has offered to undertake re-configuration of the planes at its own cost; and
(c) if so, the details thereof and reaction of the Government thereto?
MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION ( SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY )
(a), (b) and (c) : Yes, Sir. In response to a global tender enquiry floated in July, 2003, for 747-400 aircraft on dry lease, M/s. Boeing had offered one aircraft in `as is condition` with passenger seating configuration of 16F/48J/316Y as against Air India`s requrirement of 12-16F/26-34J/389Y. M/s. Boeing did not commit to reconfigure the aircraft to meet Air India requirement, but offered to reimburse some of the expenses if Air India gets it done. Air India was not ready to accept the responsibility of reconfiguration as it requires substantial resource allocation. Furthermore, Boeing galley reconfiguration had a lead-time of one year. The aircraft being taken on lease was to be inducted by end of Novemeber, 2003 and was required to be integrated with Air India`s present fleet and hence Boeing offer was not found technically acceptable.