Boeing's commercial airplanes business will get a third quarter boost from the delivery of two new VVIP 777-300 jets to India's government, offering new long-distance rides to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top officials.
Multiple media reports from India say the Chicago-based jet maker is handing off the jets in August to Indian government officials and military pilots who've traveled to the U.S. and will fly the aircraft back to India.
The two jets will cost India's government a total of $1.1 billion after they have been outfitted with special military hardware and missile avoidance systems, and luxury interiors, GQ India reports.
There were conflicting reports about the jets. One said the jets are lightly used aircraft operated for only two or three years, while another said they were new jets.
Boeing spokesman Bernard Choi had no immediate comment on the reports.
What is clear is that Boeing won a $190 million contract to refurbish them and install the special protective systems on the airplanes, including "self-protection suites."
That deal was approved by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency in February 2019.
The first aircraft delivery was originally slated to take place in July but was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, IndiaTV reported.
The first new "Air India One" will be operated by pilots and crews from the Indian Air Force at Palam Air Force Station, located in New Delhi, starting in late August. The second jet will potentially arrive in September.
Pilots have already been getting training to operate the new jets, which were in Dallas to be specially outfitted, and an aviation enthusiast, Andy Egloff, recently snapped a rare photo of the jet in Dallas, which was shared on Twitter.
The two new widebodies will replace the Indian government's aging 747s under a deal. Those were flown by pilots from Air India, the country's flagship airline. All 777 jets are made in Boeing's Everett factory complex.
AirInsight analyst Addison Schonland said in an interview that India's move to the 777-300ER closes another chapter in the story of Boeing's iconic 747 jets.
"What we see here is a generational shift, a movement away from the 747s to another set of the twin-engined 777-300 Extended Range jets. Japan has done it, now India. The United States is the only country still using the 747 as a presidential aircraft. Everybody else has moved on," Schonland said.
The Hindustan Times reported that the jets will be exclusively used by Prime Minister Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu.
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