Air India Signs For As Many As 50 777s, 787s

What a difference a year makes. Boeing, stung by its position as the world's SECOND biggest commercial aircraft maker, has been working its sales force overtime, announcing two huge deals in just two days.

Boeing Tuesday announced it had inked a deal with Air India for up to 50 aircraft -- including 15 777-300ERs and 27 787 Dreamliners. The sticker value of the deal was $6.9 billion.

"It's an important customer and we're really happy to have them on board," Mike Bair, vice president and general manager of the 787 program, said on a conference call, quoted by Reuters. "As the Indian airlines start to deregulate, we're seeing a lot of stuff starting to happen over there."

That deal was announced less than 24 hours after Air Canada announced it, too, would buy 32 777s and 787s from Boeing in an agreement worth $5 billion before discounts.

But it was the Air India deal that was, perhaps, the most surprising. Coming after the Bush administration agreed to sell F-16s to Pakistan (India's long-time nemesis), the Boeing sale was an indication that the Indians weren't as put off as had been previously believed.

The Boeing order has to be seen as part of an overall push toward a closer Indo-American strategic alliance," said Kapil Kaul, head of the Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation in India, in a Reuters interview. "It is a huge step forward for Air-India, which is in a very vulnerable stage right now because of the increased competition and I only hope the order sees the light of day soon."

FMI: www.boeing.com