Boeing India is planning to pitch a brand new plane, Boeing 747-8, whose list price is $270 million, to both Air India and Jet Airways very soon.
"This aircraft is a long-haul plane and is an improved version of the 747-400 with a seating capacity of 450. It possesses the same engine as our Dreamliner range which promises a 20 per cent higher fuel efficiency when compared to any other engine in the Indian market right now," said Mr Dinesh Keskar, president, Boeing India, speaking exclusively to this newspaper. "Air India and Jet Airways would be our first choice in the Indian context as they both have imminent plans of servicing long-haul sectors especially with Air India about to introduce a non-stop 15-hour flight to the US," he added.
On the question of accessing the Internet and the availability of Wi-Fi systems being available on-board the aircraft, Mr Keskar said, "We believe that Internet accessibility is extremely crucial for business travellers on the long-haul sector wherein senior executives cannot afford to be disconnected from their work for too long and therefore, we have pioneered a copyright technology system called Connexion which allows for travellers to access the Internet through out the aircraft. Each plane is equipped with the Connexion service that offers either an ethernet local area network connection or a wireless 802.11a/b/g network connection, or both."
Boeing India had earlier negotiated a deal for 68 aircraft with Air India, giving a Rs 1,000 crore discount.
"This aircraft is a long-haul plane and is an improved version of the 747-400 with a seating capacity of 450. It possesses the same engine as our Dreamliner range which promises a 20 per cent higher fuel efficiency when compared to any other engine in the Indian market right now," said Mr Dinesh Keskar, president, Boeing India, speaking exclusively to this newspaper. "Air India and Jet Airways would be our first choice in the Indian context as they both have imminent plans of servicing long-haul sectors especially with Air India about to introduce a non-stop 15-hour flight to the US," he added.
On the question of accessing the Internet and the availability of Wi-Fi systems being available on-board the aircraft, Mr Keskar said, "We believe that Internet accessibility is extremely crucial for business travellers on the long-haul sector wherein senior executives cannot afford to be disconnected from their work for too long and therefore, we have pioneered a copyright technology system called Connexion which allows for travellers to access the Internet through out the aircraft. Each plane is equipped with the Connexion service that offers either an ethernet local area network connection or a wireless 802.11a/b/g network connection, or both."
Boeing India had earlier negotiated a deal for 68 aircraft with Air India, giving a Rs 1,000 crore discount.