The A380, with a sticker price of $290m, is designed to carry a minimum of 550 passengers, with room for expansion to nearly 800 people. Kingfisher is also ordering an unknown number of the yet-to-be launched A350s and A330s. The planes are scheduled for delivery in a five-year period beginning ‘07.
UB group chairman Vijay Mallya confirmed the deal and said it was in keeping with his aim to make the company India’s largest airline by ‘10. No Indian airport currently has the capability for an A380 to land.
German carrier Lufthansa, which has ordered 15 of the aircraft, has announced its intention to fly the aircraft to India and the Airport Authority of India is beefing up Mumbai and Delhi airports to handle the aircraft. The new greenfield airports at Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi will also be able to take the aircraft, airport sources said.
The huge order gives Kingfisher the first-mover advantage in terms of taking forward its ‘Funliner’ concept with the space available in the aircraft. With its huge cavernous cabin, the A380 has captured the imagination of some of the best airlines in the world, which are currently busy planning innovations that they say will change the way people travel.
It is still not clear how the UB group will finance the aircraft acquisition and no details are available on the routes on which they will be operated.
Kingfisher, which began operations in May, currently operates a fleet of three A320 single-aisle aircraft.
