US carriers want US Exim bank credit to Air India repealed
15 Nov 2011
New York: American carriers, through their trade group, the Air Transport Association (ATA), have opposed the US Exim Bank's decision to extend $3.4 billion credit to India's flag carrier Air India to enable it to buy Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
In its communiqué, the association has called Air India "one of the most poorly-run airlines in the world".
The ATA, a trade group representing America's biggest carriers, shot off a letter to US Export-Import Bank chairman, Fred Hochberg, opposing the decision, saying Air India's financial ill-health should disqualify it from getting American help.
A report in The Wall Street Journal said the Exim Bank's general counsel has responded by saying the bank stood by its decisions and processes, though it would investigate some of ATA's assertions about its procedures.
"Air India's borrowing is backed by a sovereign guarantee of the Indian government and its business plan has been vetted by Exim Bank staff," the report quoted a US government official as saying.
Last month the US Exim Bank decided to extend loan guarantees of $1.3 billion to support Air India's fleet acquisition programme with purchases from Boeing and an additional $2.1 billion preliminary commitment to support future deliveries of Boeing planes to the Indian national carrier.
