New Delhi: Air India is keen on adding four-five wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft that have been grounded by beleaguered airline Jet Airways and may hold discussions with the airline's lead lender, the State Bank of India (SBI), in this regard. The national carrier is considering expanding its fleet in order to cater to peak demand on various international routes such as India-Gulf and India-UK.
The Naresh Goyal-owned airline has 10 Boeing 777 aircraft in its fleet which it used to operate on popular international destinations in Europe and North America before shutting down its international operations.
"Air India has expressed its interest to take some of the B777s on lease. The initial proposal is there," an industry source said.
After Jet Airways suspended operations on international routes, airfares jumped manifold on most foreign routes. Tickets on Mumbai-London route have skyrocketed tremendously since then.
Air India wants to make the most of the traffic on these routes by deploying additional capacity. While the demand created in the domestic aviation market due to suspension of operations by Jet Airways is being catered to by various domestic airlines, international routes have not yet seen capacity addition.