Indian Airlines to lease five aircraft

The board of directors of state-owned domestic carrier Indian Airlines approved the lease of five Boeing 737-200 aircraft, an airline spokesman said.

"These leased aircraft will operate on our winter schedule starting November," Robin Pathak, director of public relations at Indian Airlines, said.

Indian Airlines, the country's largest domestic carrier, has a fleet of 54 aircraft, 20 of which are ageing and are to be gradually phased out.

The carrier has come under pressure to obtain new aeroplanes to improve its air safety record. A Boeing 737-200 aircraft operated by Indian Airlines subsidiary Alliance Air crashed in Patna in July.

Indian Airlines is planning to purchase between 35 and 41 aircraft to replenish and renew its fleet, at a total projected cost of Rs 90 billion.

The airline plans to add the new aircraft to its existing fleet over a five-year period starting next year.

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