Jet Airways signs purchase agreement for ten Airbus A330s

Jet Airways has signed a Purchase Agreement with Airbus for ten A330-200s, becoming an early Indian customer for the popular A330 family. The deal reaffirms Jet Airways' selection of the aircraft in June. Jet Airways also has taken options for another ten aircraft.

Deliveries of the A330s will begin in the first quarter of 2007, making Jet Airways the very first Indian carrier to receive brand-new airliners in this category.

Jet Airways is already an A340 operator, having begun A340-300E services to London earlier this year, using leased aircraft. It plans to use its Airbus A330s on a mix of regional and international flights. Cockpit commonality means that the A330 and A340 will nicely complement each other.

Each aircraft will seat around 220 passengers, with luxurious flat-bed seating in business, and a comfortable eight-abreast layout in economy.

"We have selected the popular Airbus A330, which meets with our requirements of international long-haul strategy and also in terms of passenger comfort, economy and style" says Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal. "This acquisition will also enable us to maintain a very modern and young fleet."

Jet Airways is India's largest private carrier, and is rapidly building an intercontinental network to complement its established domestic services.

"Indian air travel is expanding faster than most of us in the industry anticipated, at a time when there is strong market demand worldwide. We are delighted to be part of and contribute to that expansion with our products," says Airbus President and CEO Gustav Humbert.

Currently offering unmatched passenger capacity and range in its class, the Airbus A330 has become the industry standard in the middle of the market - invariably winning favour in airline evaluations of its economics and passenger appeal. The A330 and A340 are also firm favourites in independent passenger surveys, while appealing to the financial community.

Like every other passenger aircraft that Airbus produces today, the A330 and A340 feature a common cockpit, which simplifies and reduces training and which, depending on the mix of different aircraft types, can be worth a saving of as much as one million dollars a year.

The A330/A340 family is the market-leader in its class, with more orders from more customers than any other modern widebody aircraft family. Firm orders for the Airbus A330/A340 family are now approaching 950 aircraft, with more than 85 customers and operators benefitting from them.

Airbus is an EADS joint company with BAE Systems.

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