INDIAN AIR NEWS
Govt. of India approved
the purchase of 43 aircraft from Air Bus at a renegotiated price for the
govt. run Indian Airlines to replace its ageing fleet. The purchase was
approved by the Indian Govt. at a renegotiated price of net US$ 2.2
billion.
The first Aircraft is expected to be
received by September 2006. In this deal, Indian Airlines, which has
several Boeing 737s aged 20-25 years, will receive Airbus A319, A320 and
A321s. The deal will allow Indian Airlines to retire its older jets as it
tries to win back its market share from private Airlines like Jet Airways,
Air Sahara etc. and budget Airlines like Air Deccan and recently launched
Kingfisher Airlines.
Analysts say the deal will boost the
fast growing aviation market in India and it is expected that the
passenger traffic is expected to grow at least 20-25% a year until 2010.