The board of cash-strapped Air India somewhat surprisingly has decided to go ahead with the acquisition of 27 Boeing 787s despite the fact that a government official said recently the airline didn’t have the money to pay for the aircraft. At its first meeting under new Chairman and Managing Director Rohit Nandan, the Air India board decided that it wants the 787 acquisition to be part of its overall expansion program. The state-run airline will seek the federal government’s approval for the purchase, an airline official said.

Private Indian airline Jet Airways has entered an arrangement with Thalys high-speed rail service for its first intermodal code-share, between Brussels and Paris. Under the code-share, Jet Airways will place its code on the Thalys-operated direct train service between the train station at Brussels Airport and Paris Nord, the carrier said in a Sept. 15 statement.

NEW DELHI — The Indian government’s auditing watchdog is slamming the defense ministry’s arms procurement process for its long, unexplained delays. “In high-value capital expenditure cases, the acquisition process lacks proper planning, effective price negotiation, proper monitoring etc.,” the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India says in its latest report, which was tabled in parliament last week.