Indian LCC Has Placed 62 Firm Orders With Airbus

While Boeing may have decisively won the airliner sales race in 2005, that does not mean that rival Airbus didn't have a rather impressive year of their own, with 749 firm orders on the books. That figure includes 30 additional A320 airliners ordered by Air Deccan on December 22, taking the number of firm orders by the Indian low cost carrier for the 180-seat airliner to 62.

"We need more aircraft to respond to the tremendous growth in air traffic that we are experiencing in India," says Air Deccan CEO and founding Managing Director Captain G.R. Gopinath, "and the Airbus A320, with its first-class economics, modern design and proven reliability, is the natural choice for low-cost carriers such as us."

Bangalore-based Air Deccan was India’s first low-cost carrier, spun off of private helicopter-charter operation Deccan Aviation Private Limited. The carrier began flying Airbus A320s (file photo of type, below) in 2004, in addition to ATR 42s and 72s.

According to the airline, Air Deccan flies to more destinations in India than any other airline.

As was reported in Aero-News back in 2004, the airline previously ordered 30 A320s to complement two already in service with the carrier. The new aircraft are expected to arrive in Air Deccan hangars beginning in 2007.

"As the first low-cost carrier in India, Air Deccan has generated a new market by making air travel affordable to more people," says Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer Gustav Humbert. "Add strong economic growth, and you see why India is such a fast-growing market, on which Air Deccan is well placed to capitalize."

Touting most modern design of any single-aisle aircraft, the Airbus A320 Family is best placed to deliver the lowest running costs, according to Airbus, making it the most economic aircraft in its class.

The Airbus A320 Family delivers many features as standard, such as weight-saving carbon fiber primary structure, a choice of engines and auxiliary power units, a fuel-saving aerodynamic design that includes wingtip fences, weight-saving carbon brakes, cost-saving centralized maintenance, and category 3B autoland. The A320 Family also features Airbus's common cockpit design, which reduces the time and cost of training when converting from one aircraft to another.

Firm orders for the Airbus A320 Family now stand at around 4,000 aircraft. The type has been ordered by, or is in service with, more than 200 customers and operators worldwide.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.airdeccan.net