EADS to expand presence globally

London: It was a very cheerful looking Mr Louis Gallois, chief executive of Airbus parent company EADS, who took his seat at the company's annual New Year press conference on Wednesday at Les Mureaux, near Paris. The firm has just secured what it believes is the largest single aircraft order in commercial aviation history from India's low-cost carrier IndiGo.
The deal, which includes 150 of its new fuel efficient A320neo and 30 of its best-selling A320, is worth an estimated $15.6 billion, according to the current catalogue price. “It is the deal of the year,” Mr Gallois said, describing the memorandum of understanding with Mr Rakesh Gangwal and Mr Rahul Bhatia's airline as the “best way to launch the A320neo.
It goes to show that it does provide added value to airlines,” said Mr Gallois, adding that the structure of IndiGo's order suggested that the two variants of the A320 complemented each other.
The signing comes as a major relief for Airbus, which had faced some scepticism about the value of introducing the new aircraft, which consumes 15 per cent less fuel than the regular A320. Last month, rival Boeing Chief Executive, Mr Jim Albaugh, told the Financial Times that he couldn't “see a compelling reason” to offer a similar upgrade on his firm's 737 model, arguing that the huge costs involved wouldn't be worth the “few per cent” of financial benefits.
12/01/11 Vidya Ram/Business Line

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Categories: Foreign Jan 2011, Indigo Airlines Jan 2011