Kingfisher may cancel A380 and A350 orders

New Delhi: The UB Group-controlled Kingfisher Airlines may cancel its orders for Airbus A380s and A350s or swap these planes for smaller planes like A320s and A330s.
“We are reviewing our purchase plan of A380s and A350s. With our airline joining the Oneworld Alliance, we do not need these ultra long-haul aircraft any more. However, we have not started any negotiations with Airbus now,” said Kingfisher Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Aggarwal.
In 2005, Kingfisher became the only Indian airline to have ordered five A380s, but has deferred its deliveries once. These jumbos were to scheduled to join the airline in 2011 but were deferred till 2014.
Vijay MallayaThe airline also ordered five A350s ultra long-haul aircraft in 2005 and the deliveries of these aircraft were to start from 2015.
Kingfisher is set to get global presence by joining the Oneworld Alliance by the end of 2011. This entry will give the airline a network of 11 airlines in its fold, covering 870 destinations across 146 countries and over 9,300 daily flights. The alliance also carries 335 million passengers on a combined fleet of over 2,400 aircraft.
Kingfisher Airlines has also chalked out a plan of doubling is fleet size from 66 to 137 aircraft by 2015-16. In the next financial year, Kingfisher plans to add a total nine airplanes – six A320s, two A330s and one ATR aircraft. Out of the nine aircraft, the airline will take eight aircraft directly from the market. The airline will add 14 aircraft in 2012-13, 20 in 2013-14, 16 in 2014-15 and 13 in 2015-16.
20/02/11 Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

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Categories: Kingfisher Feb 2011