by Devesh Agarwal
National carrier Air India, became the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner operator to commence scheduled commercial services to Paris, Charles De Gaulle (Roissy) airport earlier today.
AI-143 will depart Delhi at 13:10 daily, arrive Paris, at 18:05.
AI-142, will depart Paris 21:30, arrive Delhi at 10:10 the next day.
Air India is gradually expanding operations of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners to international destinations. Presently, the airline operates its Dreamliners fly from Delhi to Dubai and Frankfurt, in addition to some domestic sectors.
The Dreamliner is designed for the medium to long haul sectors and it was expected the carrier would deploy its aircraft to London and Tokyo, apart from Paris. However, repeated technical glitches have lowered the despatch reliability of this aircraft type, forcing the carrier to use its Dreamliners on domestic routes till these issues are fully sorted out with the manufacturer, Boeing, and various other system vendors.
Air India has received six of the fuel efficient Dreamliners till date, the latest arriving on January 4.