New Delhi: Boeing Co may win an order as early as this weekend for about 70 to 80 737 MAX jets from Indian billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s startup airline Akasa Air, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
A deal could be announced during the Dubai Airshow, which begins on November 14, the report said.
The Mumbai-based Akasa Air last month received initial clearance from the civil aviation ministry to launch the ultra-low cost carrier.
The aircraft deal could be valued at as much as $10 billion at current list prices, although discounts are common in large orders.
Any deal would allow Boeing to establish itself firmly in a market dominated by Airbus aircraft. Market leader IndiGo operates a fleet of Airbus jets with orders for more than 700 planes. Other airlines also operate Airbus models. Only SpiceJet operates Boeing 737s.
Akasa Air plans to offer flights across India starting summer of 2022.
India’s air safety regulator has cleared the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to fly after a nearly two-and-a-half-years of regulatory grounding.
On March 13, 2019, all Boeing 737 MAX planes were grounded in India by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after two deadly crashes abroad.
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