Water cannon salute for aircraft
The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft that joined the Air India fleet on September 8 was greeted with a water cannon salute when it landed in the city on Thursday.
The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft that joined the Air India fleet on September 8 was greeted with a water cannon salute when it landed in the city on Thursday.
Senior pilots captain AS Soman and captain Amitabh Singh flew the aircraft, carrying airline chairman Rohit Nandan and senior officials from AI and Boeing. The aircraft - first of five likely to join the fleet this year - will operate its first passenger flight on September 19.
"The Dreamliner will be deployed on the Delhi-Chennai route and Delhi-Bangalore route for now," said an airline official.
The Dreamliner's seat configuration is likely to improve the loss-making airline's revenues. As compared to the Boeing 777 that had 26 business class seats, the 787 has 18 seats for executive class fliers.