Air India to Cut Dreamliner Orders: Report

Air India's board has recommended that the state-run airline buy just 12 Dreamliners, down from 27 the company ordered in 2005. A senior official with India's civil aviation ministry who requested anonymity discussed the matter Wednesday with the Economic Times of India. Air India hasn't confirmed the news.

Miles Kotay, a spokesman for Boeing Commercial Airplanes Asia, told the International Business Times that the corporation doesn't comment on rumors or speculation, such as the one regarding Air India. However, he said that Boeing continues to work with Air India on the Dreamliner's entry into service.

If orders are canceled, this wouldn't be the first cancelation to make news. Last week, China Eastern airlines canceled 24 orders of the Dreamliner, but said it would spend $3.3 billion to purchase 45 737s.

The company has said that it was bracing for more cancelations in the future.

Frankly, as we look forward, we expect to see the Dreamliner order base increase, we expect to see more orders, we expect to see more cancelations, especially as we go through mitigation with our customers, Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Vice President of Marketing, told reporters in Seoul last week.

Despite the cancelation, Boeing remained confident. Last week, the company said they expect 1,250 new airplanes to be delivered to Northeast Asia carriers over the next 20 years, hauling in $200 billion for the airplane maker. Much of that revenue will come from South Korea, Boeing noted.  

The Dreamliner carried its first commercial passengers Wednesday from Hong Kong to Tokyo. All Nippon Airways, the carrier for the first flight, said long-haul service from Haneda, Japan to Frankfurt, Germany will begin on Jan. 21 of next year.

Boeing congratulates ANA on putting the first new airplane of the 21st century, the 787 Dreamliner, into revenue service, Kotay said.

The Dreamliner can carry between 210 and 290 passengers. ANA pointed out that the windows of the plane are 30 percent larger than those in the 767 and the overhead compartments of the new plane are 30 percent larger than those in the 777.

Furthermore, the airline noted that air pressure in the cabin will maintain the equivalent of air pressure at an altitude of 6,000 feet, unlike the 8,000-foot equivalent other companies use.

The plane also uses 20 percent less fuel than planes of similar size, according to Boeing.

Boeing posted Wednesday that their third quarter earnings totaled $1.1 billion, up 31 percent from $837 million in 2010. Revenue for the third quarter was $17.7 billion, up 4 percent from $17.0 billion in 2010.

Revenue from the commercial airplanes unit grew 9 percent to $9.5 billion. There were 127 commercial airplane deliveries in the third quarter, up from 124 last year.

Strong operational performance drove double-digit margins in both our major businesses and produced an outstanding quarter, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said in a statement. We also strengthened our foundation for accelerated growth by completing development and certification of the 787-8 Dreamliner and 747-8 Freighter, launching the new 737 MAX, and continuing our disciplined ramp up in commercial airplane production rates.

Shares of Boeing are up 4.90 percent to $66.86 in mid-afternoon trading.

Write to Samuel Weigley at s.weigley@ibtimes.com.