Paris Air Show, a mixed bag for India airlines

Mumbai: Airlines from India, among the fastest growing by passenger volume in the world, will be wooed by aircraft manufacturers at the Paris Air Show this week but are unlikely to be major buyers.
Analysts say that the world's oldest and largest air show, which kicks off Monday, may see few deals from India as budget carriers struggle to manage costs and move to profitability.
But full-service Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines is expected to place orders as it prepares to expand into budget services in India and fly to international destinations as well, said Amar Kedia, aviation analyst with brokerage Mumbai-based ICICI-Securities.
Kingfisher has already ordered Airbus's A340-500s that can directly serve the US West Coast. In 2005, Kingfisher ordered 15 Airbus aircraft: five of the new superjumbo A380, five of the future A350 and five A330s.
In 2005, budget carrier Indigo ordered 100 A320 planes from Indigo worth about six billion dollars while full-service Jet Airways bought 10 A330 airliners for around 1.65 billion dollars.
In January 2006, Air India signed an agreement to buy 68 Boeing jets for around 11 billion dollars to upgrade its ageing fleet, marking the biggest deal in Indian aviation history.
In 2005, Indian Airlines ordered 20 Airbus A-319s, 19 A-321s and four A-320s in a deal worth 2.2 billion dolars.
More than 50 percent of the fleet in India is made up of Airbus planes, while Boeing commands a 25 percent presence.
17/06/07 Zee News

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Categories: Airshow Paris 2007, Foreign Jun 2007, General Aviation Jun 2007