NEW DELHI — India has finally signed a contract to buy a fleet of 75 Swiss Pilatus PC-7 MK II turboprop aircraft to conduct initial training for its air force pilots. The contract, which is worth more than 500 million Swiss francs ($520 million) also includes an integrated, ground-based training system and a comprehensive logistics support package.
Air India is scheduled to take delivery in late May or early June of the first of 27 Boeing 787s it has on order, followed about a month later by receipt of the first 787 to roll off a new assembly line in South Carolina. But who will fly the new jets when they arrive?