Air Deccan to acquire Airbus A320S

Air Deccan, India’s first low-cost carrier, has chosen Airbus’ A320 family to expand services to major Indian cities from its Bangalore base. It will acquire two new Airbus A320s from Airbus, and has taken options on two more. In addition, it will lease a further five A320s from Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE).

Deliveries of the leased aircraft will begin in July this year, while those of the new aircraft from Airbus will start in September 2005.

All of the aircraft will seat 180 passengers in an all-economy layout and will be powered by International Aero Engines V2500-A5 engines.

“With our low-cost approach, we naturally wanted the most economical aircraft for the job, and the Airbus A320 was the clear winner in our evaluation,” says Air Deccan Managing Director Captain G.R. Gopinath. “We also recognised that the Airbus A320’s cabin is the widest and most spacious in its class, which will allow us to compete with other carriers on product, as well as cost.”

Air Deccan currently flies seven ATR 42 turboprops on services from Bangalore to cities in the south of India. Air Deccan intends to use the A320 to expand its low-cost operation throughout India.

“We are delighted that Air Deccan will become another customer and operator of the Airbus A320 family, which is increasingly successful in the low-cost market – as well as with full-service carriers,” says Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer Noël Forgeard. “We look forward to being Air Deccan’s partner as it expands in the important Indian market.”

Airbus’ A320 family is the most successful aircraft family in the world, having been chosen by more than 160 customers and operators around the world, including many in Asia-Pacific. Firm orders for the Airbus A320 family stand at some 3,100 aircraft, more than 2,100 of which have been delivered to date.

Airbus is an EADS joint Company with BAE Systems.



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