New Delhi: Air India Ltd is looking to take Boeing Co planes rejected by Chinese carriers, people familiar with the matter say, joining the ranks of Asian airlines vying to benefit from the trade war between Washington and Beijing.
The Tata Group-owned carrier, which urgently needs aircraft to expedite its revival, plans to approach Boeing about acquiring a number of jets the US planemaker was readying for Chinese airlines before reciprocal tariffs thwarted the handovers, according to the people.
They are familiar with discussions at the Indian airline and didn’t want to be identified because the information isn’t public.
Air India is also eager to take up slots for future deliveries should they become available, the people said. The carrier has benefited from China’s pullback in the past – through March, it had accepted 41 737 Max jets originally built for Chinese airlines.
Their deliveries had been deferred due to issues including safety concerns with lithium batteries in the planes’ cockpit voice recorders. Representatives for Air India and Boeing declined to comment.
Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd too is in talks with Boeing over delivery slots vacated by Chinese carriers, Bernama reported last Sunday.
Chinese airlines were told by the government not to accept Boeing aircraft, Bloomberg News reported last week, after Beijing set reciprocal tariffs of up to 125% on US-made goods.
About 10 planes were being prepared for delivery at the time, and some 737 Max jets in China already have since been sent back to the United States.
Any Boeing planes already built or in progress will present complications for potential buyers, as the cabin configurations for many will already have been set by the original customer, and some payments will have been made.
The interest from non-Chinese airlines is likely to soften the short-term blow for Boeing, one of the highest-profile US exporters, should the tariff war continue.
Still, the trade conflict may complicate efforts to wind down a so-called shadow factory for stored 737s this summer.
The US manufacturer is expected to provide an update on the situation with its quarterly results this week.
Friction between Washington and Beijing has given Europe’s Airbus SE the advantage over Boeing in China over the past several years. — Bloomberg
