GoAir places $1.2 bn order for A-320s

To buy 20 aircrafts from Airbus for Rs 5,341 cr.

Nusli Wadia-promoted no-frills airline GoAir today placed orders worth $1.2 billion (approximately, Rs 5,341 crore) for 20 aircraft with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

GoAir Managing Director Jeh Wadia said in a media statement the airline required these planes to respond to the "tremendous growth in air traffic being experienced in India and the increasing demand for GoAir."

The GoAir announcement is in step with the domestic aviation industry's expansion plans. Air-India announced plans to acquire 68 aircraft from Boeing for an estimated $8.1 billion. Indian Airlines had placed an order of $2.2 billion for 43 Airbus A320 aircraft.

Kingfisher Airlines recently placed a fresh order for 30 Airbus A320s at the Dubai Air Show 2005 in a deal valued at $1.9 billion, which followed its purchase of 20 ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft valued at $ 350 million.

SpiceJet has agreed to convert options for 10 Boeing 737 planes into firm orders and take an additional 10 options in a deal worth $1.4 billion at list price.

GoAir today placed the order in Singapore for A-320 aircraft. The A-320s will have a single-class economy layout with 180 seats. GoAir operates three A 320 airbus for 24 flights covering 11 cities.

The additional aircraft will allow the budget airline to expand operations on the northern Indian and metro-to-metro routes. It had announced plans to expand its fleet to 36 aircraft in the next three years.

The airline plans to commence operations from Thiruvananthapuram, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Srinagar, Jammu, Delhi and Kolkata in a phased manner. Analysts said the GoAir move to place an order with Airbus was logical.

"GoAir is operating an Airbus fleet and had invested in infrastructure that suits Airbus. It includes pilots, engineering services, spare parts and ground handling support systems," they pointed out.