National carrier Air India – a Star Alliance member has 15 aircraft which are grounded. The information was conveyed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation last week while answering a question in Rajya Sabha – the upper house of parliament.
Air India has a fleet of 123 aircraft comprising four B747, eighteen B777, twenty-seven B787, twenty-two A319, thirty-two A320 and twenty A321. As of first week of December, two B787 Dreamliner, three B777, five A319 and five A320s were on ground for want of Spares and Engines.
It is estimated that the airline would require an amount of INR 1525 crore for the spares and recovery of un-serviceable engines to make the aircraft operational again. Air India increased utilization of its B777 with a thrice weekly service between Mumbai and New York effective 7th December.
The grounding has affected the airline’s expansion and it has either re-scheduled the flights or combined them leading to passenger inconvenience and potential loss of revenue in peak period.
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