Air India is likely to deploy its newly-acquired
Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft for long-haul international operations from next week.
Touted as
the game changer for Air India, Dreamliner is expected to be used on flights to Australia and southeast Asian countries, including Japan.
Air India has already deployed Dreamliners on domestic sector to
familiarise the pilots with aircraft landings and takeoff procedures.
The first destination, however, would be Frankfurt and the service is likely to begin from October 15, a senior Air India official said.
Air India received the first 787 Dreamliner from the US-based aircraft
manufacturer Boeing on September 8, after a wait of four years.
So far, the state-run
carrier has received three Dreamliners. The aircraft is equipped with 18 business class seats and 238 in the economy class.
The first commercial
service of Dreamliner started from September 19 between New Delhi and Chennai, followed by New Delhi-Bangalore route.
Lack of adequate manpower, however, made Air India delay its plan for flights to Australia and other destinations.
The airline will take delivery of the fourth 787 on October 20 and another by the end of this year, followed by seven more in 2013, five in 2014, six in 2015 and three in 2016.
With inputs from PTI 
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