Indian carriers to add 60 A380s to fleet over 20 yrs

Indian airline companies will acquire 50-60 Airbus A380 aircraft, the largest passenger plane flying today, over the next 20 years. This will result in business of over $15 billion for Airbus, the Europe-based aircraft manufacturing giant.
There is tremendous potential for the use of A380 by Indian airlines since traffic here is growing much faster than other parts of the world, said Kiran Rao, vice-president-in-charge of marketing at Airbus and head of India operations. “Due to strong economic growth, air traffic in India is expected to double in 10 years while it will take 15 years for many other markets. In 15 years, traffic here will probably triple,” he said.
As of now, Kingfisher is the only Indian airline company to have ordered an A380 and delivery of the aircraft to the UB Group airline is scheduled for 2015-16. Various other carriers, including Air India, are said to be exploring the option of acquiring the A380.
As of now, 31 A380s are flying across the globe and Airbus has firm orders for 200 more. “Six million passengers have already flown the aircraft and we expect strong demand for it since its cabin provides scope for offering enhanced comfort to passengers. Apart from quiet flights, airlines can also offer better seats, in-flight entertainment, internet and mail services,” Mr Rao said.
14/07/10 G Ganapathy Subramaniam/Economic Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jul 2010