"Our aircraft - Boeing 777-200 ER (long range), B 777-300 ER (extended range) and 787-8 Dreamliners are perfectly suited for Air India's plans and have competitive advantages over our competitors (Airbus Industrie)," Dinesh A Keskar, senior vice president (sales), Boeing, said.
He said his company was in talks with almost all the Indian carriers, including Jet Airways, Air Sahara and SpiceJet, for these and other aircraft for their domestic and international operations.
To questions as to why Jet Airways selected A340-300 to fly to London, Keskar said Boeing aircraft were not available in the lease market and added he was "not sure at this stage" as to which aircraft the private airline would fly when it launches operations to New York.
The Boeing executive said there was a 'phenomenal' increase in domestic and international traffic from India, which would help in growth of airline market. The government was taking all steps to improve airports and other necessary infrastructure in the country, he added.
The 777-200 LR planes could be used to fly non-stop from India to any point in the US, thereby reducing flying time considerably, he said. America's Continental Airlines, which plans to launch such a non-stop direct service from New Delhi in November, would operate the 777-200 ERs.
The yet-to-be-launched 787-8 Dreamliner would be able to fly 1,500 nautical miles more than its competitors, opening vistas on the new non-stop routes like Delhi-New York, Mumbai-San Francisco and Bangalore-Sydney.
Keskar claimed the 787-8 aircraft would consume much less fuel than the competing Airbus planes and present new interior environment with wider seats and aisles and other conveniences.
