U.S. pilots and airlines failed to persuade a judge to temporarily block the Export-Import Bank of the United States from providing Air India Ltd. with $1.3 billion in loan guarantees to buy Boeing Co. aircraft.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington yesterday rejected arguments by trade associations for the largest U.S. airlines and pilots who said allowing the guarantees to proceed while their legal challenge is being considered would harm domestic airlines. Boasberg’s ruling came three days before Boeing is scheduled to deliver one of its aircraft to Air India.
“Any injury to plaintiffs that may be caused by the delivery of one or two planes to Air India is, at this stage, wholly speculative,” Boasberg said. None of the airlines participating the lawsuit offer a direct flight between the U.S. and India, the judge said.
The Air Transport Association of America Inc., now called Airlines for America, filed the lawsuit in November claiming the bank didn’t seek public comment or consider the effect on the U.S. airline industry before approving $1.3 billion in loan guarantees and $2.1 billion in preliminary commitments to support the sale of 30 Boeing aircraft to Mumbai-based Air India as per a Bloomberg report.
At least 27 of those aircraft are the 787 Dreamliner, which lawyers for the trade groups said in a hearing last week are “dramatically efficient.”
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