Planemaker Bets On Country's Need For Long-Haul Flights

Scores of people waited on the sides of the road near India's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport Sunday, in anticipation of a big event... involving a big plane.

At the expected time, the cheers went up as an Airbus A380 made its first landing in India -- after circling the airport twice before touching down, reported The Associated Press.

New Delhi airport officials said the landing of the aircraft was smooth with clockwork precision... and the aircraft later parked at a bay near the Haj Terminal of the IGI Airport. The pilot of the aircraft waved the Indian tri-color flag as soon as the aircraft reached the parking bay.

The runway and taxiways at the airport had been readied earlier for the mammoth A380. Airport officials cleaned up the grass shoulders along the sides of the runway to make way for the jet's wings, which span nearly a football field.

The A380 is in India for airport compatibility tests at New Delhi and Mumbai, as well as route-roving demonstration flights. Airbus will formally display the plane at a Monday news conference.

Kingfisher Airlines has ordered for five A380s and will take delivery of the aircraft from 2011 onwards at the superjumbo price of $300 million each. The airline is the first private carrier in India to order the A380.

Kingfisher is planning two demonstration flights from New Delhi to Mumbai on Monday and Tuesday and is launching a promotional campaign which will give select guests a chance to be the first to fly on board the Airbus A380 in India, according to the company's website.

India's private airlines have only been able to fly overseas since 2005, as ANN reported. When Airbus began taking orders for its A380, state-run Air India had already placed an order for 68 Boeing planes.

However, recent air travel in the country has seen the rapid growth of a number of private airlines, many gearing up for long-haul flights.

The pace of modernization at major airports, however, is looked at by airlines with a cautious eye. Airport runways that can handle the A380 are expected to be ready by 2010 in New Delhi and Mumbai.

FMI: www.airbus.com