When these B747 aircraft are not flying the dignitaries, they are used by the Indian national carrier for commercial operations. "The two new B777 planes will come to India from US facility of Boeing by July next year. They will have the call sign 'Air India One'. Only IAF pilots will be flying the two new aircraft for PM, president and vice president," a senior official of the national carrier said.The official said 4-6 pilots of IAF have already been trained by Air India to fly the B777 planes. In February, the US agreed to sell the two defence systems to India at a cost of total USD 190 million.The Centre is planning to initiate the process of divestment of its stake in Air India, which has a debt of over Rs 60,000 crore, from November this year.

Source: Economic Times October 09, 2019 16:18 UTC