Options For Five More

India's Kingfisher Airlines has signed a contract for five Airbus A340-500 and an option for five more, Airbus reported Monday. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2008, and are the latest "high gross weight" versions of the A340.

Dr Vijay Mallya, Chairman of Kingfisher Airline’s parent company UB Group, and Gustav Humbert, Airbus President and CEO, signed the deal in a ceremony attended by Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and EADS CEO Dr. Thomas Enders.

All five A340-500 in the Kingfisher fleet will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines.

Kingfisher -- a rapidly growing force in Indian civil aviation, and already one of the country's largest airlines -- flies eight Airbus A320's and four Airbus A319’s on domestic routes. The carrier is slated to receive 30 more single aisle aircraft from Airbus in the near future.

"This purchase is further evidence of the confidence that an increasingly successful airline, such as Kingfisher Airlines shows in our modern family of aircraft," said Airbus chief Gustav Humbert. "We have built a strong relationship with Kingfisher and we are delighted that once again Kingfisher has chosen Airbus to help build its rapidly expanding fleet."

Kingfisher has also placed firm orders for five Airbus A380’s, five A330's and five A350's for use on long-range international and regional services. With these orders, Kingfisher’s Airbus fleet will grow to more than 60 aircraft.

"With the A340-500 ultra long haul aircraft, we will open up a completely new market. For the first time, we will be able to offer direct non-stop services between India and the USA and our A340-500 will have a unique configuration giving passengers extra space and comfort on their long flights" said Dr. Mallya.

To date, over 1060 A330/A340/A350 Family aircraft have been ordered from 72 customers. More than 140 Airbus A340-500/-600 have been sold to 14 customers.

FMI: www.flykingfisher.com, www.airbus.com