Indian carriers place orders for more planes

By agencies   |   Friday, 18 November 2005, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: After the InterGlobe owned Indigo Air placed orders for 100 Airbus planes at the Paris Air Show in June, it’s the turn of another start up airline- Kingfisher Airlines to order 30 jets and 20 turbo-propelled aircraft at the Dubai Air Show in a deal worth $2.1 billion. All these aircrafts will be used on domestic routes. "We are announcing two major deals at the Dubai Air Show. This is a part of our network expansion plan," chairman and liquor baron Vijay Mallya said. Indian carriers are furiously expanding their fleets as cut-rate prices have resulted in soaring demand. Unlisted Kingfisher, along with other airlines such as Jet Airways Ltd, SpiceJet and government owned Indian Airlines, have emerged as major aircraft buyers. Domestic air travel will grow more than 20 percent a year over the next five air travel becomes more affordable in India with the launch of many more new low cost carriers.