Jet Airways plans to receive five 68-seat ATR 72-600 turboprops by March to replace 18 ATR 72-500 currently operated by the Indian airline. “The delivery of the first aircraft will begin this month and will be complete by March,” says a company spokesman. The short-haul aircraft will operate on the airline’s “domestic network” and “provide enhanced connectivity into the Tier II and III cities and towns across India.”
NEW DELHI — Confirming early reports, India on Dec. 5 officially announced that Boeing’s Chinook CH-47F tandem-rotor helicopter has been chosen for the Indian air force (IAF), besting the Russian Mi-26. “In the proposal initiated by the IAF for the procurement of 15 heavy-lift helicopters, Boeing with [the] Chinook helicopter has emerged as the L1 [i.e., lowest-bidding] vendor,” Defense Minister A.K. Antony says. “The cost of the contract would depend upon outcome of the contract negotiation with the L1 Vendor, which has not yet concluded.”
