AVIATION NEWS                                      Back To Index Page
May 2007

Airbus A380 lands in Delhi on maiden India visit

     New Delhi: The world's largest passenger aircraft, Airbus A380, for the first time landed in India on Sunday morning at the Capital's Indira Gandhi International Airport. The world's first double-deck passenger aircraft landed at the IGI airport at 10.45 a.m. amidst special arrangements. Four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines are powering the airplane's five- day India visit. The Airbus A380, which has been generating enormous interest around the globe and the aviation industry and is regarded as the future of aviation, has come in the run up to the Kingfisher Airlines second anniversary celebrations. Kingfisher Airlines is the first and the only airline from India to sign up for the Airbus A380 and has 10 aircraft on order with five firm orders and further options for five more aircraft. The Airbus A380 is scheduled to be in India till May 10, and will be visiting New Delhi and Mumbai. Kingfisher Airlines has launched a promotional campaign to give select guests a chance to be the first to fly on board the Airbus A380 in India. The UB Group airline is reportedly planning to connect San Fransisco with Bangalore via direct flights with the A380, which provides seating for 555 people in standard three-class configuration or up to 853 people in full economy class configuration. It is also the tallest with a height of nearly 80 feet. The A380's upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage. This allows for a cabin with 50 percent more floor space than the next largest airliner, the Boeing 747-400.

    Two models of the A380 are available for sale. The A380-800, the passenger model, is the largest passenger airliner in the world, superseding the Boeing 747. The A380-800F, the freighter model, is designed as one of the largest freight aircraft, with a listed payload capacity exceeded only by the Antonov An-225. The A380-800 has a maximum range of 15,000 km, and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85. Kingfisher Airlines completes two immensely successful years of operations on May 9 and the visit of the Airbus A380, coinciding with Kingfisher Airlines' anniversary celebrations, marks a major milestone for the airline and for Indian aviation. Ever since it began operations on May 9, 2005, Kingfisher Airlines has set a scorching pace by ensuring that it is ahead of the pack in terms of product and service offering and has consistently been at the forefront, delighting its guests with innovation after innovation.
-May 6, 2007