Business | Aviation
Kingfisher buys 30 Airbus 320s for $1.9b
Kingfisher Airlines, India's fastest growing privately-owned airline, said yesterday it had ordered 30 Airbus A320 aircraft in a deal worth $1.9 billion (Dh6.98 billion).
- By Kokila Jacob, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 November 22, 2005
Kingfisher Airlines, India's fastest growing privately-owned airline, said yesterday it had ordered 30 Airbus A320 aircraft in a deal worth $1.9 billion (Dh6.98 billion).
To finance the deal, the airline will also go public "sooner than later" said Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director of the airline.
 Sankha Kar/Gulf News Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director of Kingfisher, and Airbus chief executive Gustav Humbert clinch the deal at Dubai Air Show. |
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"A mix of equity and debt has met all our deposit and pre-delivery payments for the aircraft orders until now. Going forward, we would have to take the company public," said Dr Mallya.
The airline has plans to fly overseas after consolidating its domestic network, he said.
India's Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel was present when the announcement was made.
The budget airline flies a fleet of seven new Airbus A320 aircraft with one more A320 and three A319s scheduled to join its fleet by January.
With this new order the total firm order for new aircraft with Airbus goes up to 40 A320s.
Airbus said deliveries of the new aircraft ordered yesterday would commence in 2008 and will continue up to 2010.
Kingfisher Airlines is also the first Indian carrier to have placed an order for five Airbus superjumbo A380s, five A350s and five A330s.
The deliveries of the A330s are expected to begin in 2007 while the A380s and A350s will arrive in 2010 and 2012 respectively.
The new A320s will be powered by IAE V2500-A5 engines, said Dr Mallya.
Kingfisher took to the skies on May 9. Starting with four flights a day, it now offers 52 flights daily, connecting Indian business and holiday destinations.
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