EADS, Jupiter in talks for freight aircraft conversion venture

New Delhi: European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., the parent of planemaker Airbus SAS, may tie up with India’s Jupiter Aviation and Logistics Pvt. Ltd to build the nation’s first facility that converts passenger planes into freighters.
The two companies are working out the final details of the venture, Ravi Narayanan, chief executive officer of Bangalore-based Jupiter Aviation, said in a telephone interview on 22 May.
A local conversion facility may help Air India Ltd, Deccan Aviation Ltd and local rivals implement their plans of altering passenger planes to cargo carriers. Airbus expects India to buy 134 freight planes by 2025 as demand for transporting goods by air rises in the world’s second-fastest growing major economy.
Jupiter Aviation is also in talks with EADS for converting passenger planes into mid-air refueling tankers, Narayanan said. The transportation logistics company, Airbus and state-owned Indian Airlines Ltd will start an aircraft maintenance venture in New Delhi from October.
22/05/07 Santanu Choudhury/ Bloomberg/Livemint

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Categories: Cargo May 2007, Foreign May 2007, New May 2007