Boeing (BOE, Washington National) is in talks with Jet Airways (JAI, Mumbai International) and Air India (AI, Delhi International) over possible orders for the B737 MAX range of aircraft. According to Reuters newswire, the US manufacturer is reportedly "close" to signing a USD5billion contract with Jet Airways for fifty of the type.
A formal announcement will only be made once Jet has concluded its fleet renewal plans with 24% shareholder, Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International).
In contrast, Dinesh Keskar, Boeing's senior vice president sales for Asia Pacific, said talks with the Indian national carrier, Air India, while active, were not as intense as those with Jet.
Jet is a prolific operator of the type with five B737-700s, fifty-two B737-800s and four B737-900s in its inventory. Air India, however, operates none of the type preferring instead to use A319-100s, A320s and A321s for its narrow body requirements although its low-cost carrier Air India Express (IX, Delhi International) uses B737-800s.
