Indian Airlines orders 43 Airbus A320s

Indian Airlines has signed an agreement with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for the purchase for 43 aircraft from the A320 family.

The deal, signed in the presence of the French President Jacques Chirac and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, by Vishwapati Trivedi, CMD, IA, and Kiran Rao, vice-president, Airbus.

The order comprising 20 A319s, four A320s and 19 A321s is for approximately $2.2 billion.

With this, Indian Airlines becomes the first airline in the country to order A321 aircraft, with 171 seats. The A319s have 122 seats and A320s will have 140 seats.

"The acquisition of 43 aircraft of the A320 family will allow Indian Airlines to step up growth and modernisation, expand its markets and further improve the quality of its product offering," Trivedi said.

All of the aircraft will feature two-class cabin layouts and will be powered by CFM International CFM56-5 engines.

Airbus is an EADS joint company with BAE Systems.