Jet Airways may shift to larger 787-9 Dreamliners in order to offset delays

New Delhi:  Jet Airways, the country's largest private airline, may be mulling different options to cover an emerging gap in their operational plans with Boeing's 787-8 Dreamliner programme lurching from one delivery date to another. According to airline sources, the carrier may change its order to a larger version of the model, the 787-9, which offers a shorter waiting list.

Though Jet's orders for the 787-8 Dreamliner are scheduled for delivery only from 2010, Boeing officials admit that even these are likely to be delayed because of the cascading effect of other delays in the programme.

Reports quote Dinesh A Keskar, Boeing's senior vice president, sales, as saying that though there have been some informal interactions with Jet Airways on the matter, no formal approaches have been made.

No comments are available from Jet officials.

Jet has 10 787-8 aircraft on order, worth $1.5 billion at January 2007 list prices. The current price of a 787-8 is in the region of $170 million. Though the 787-9 costs around $200 million it also offers 16 per cent more capacity, with 290 seats.

The 787-9 is capable of carrying 250-290 passengers on routes of 8,600 to 8,800 nautical miles (15,900-16,300 kilometers).

With an early delivery date, and larger capacity, Jet may find it useful to deploy such an aircraft on high density routes.