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BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
15 June, 2005, Paris: Paramount Aviation, India's upcoming budget airline, today took a step closer to take-off, with a five-plane acquisition. At the Paris Air Show currently under way, the upcoming airline announced its deal to purchase five planes from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer.
Paramaount Airways will be the first customer for Embraer in India for its E-jets. Paramount Airways has signed the preliminary contracts to lease two EMBRAER 170s and three EMBRAER 175s for its flights, which are expected to take off later this year.
Paramount Airways intends to be the first choice for business and leisure
travellers by offering innovative, world-class products and unparalleled comfort at affordable fares. Headquartered at Coimbatore in southern India, Paramount Airways aims to take off as a full-service airline providing direct flights to several secondary cities and also connecting them to primary metro areas in the country. The airline is promoted by Paramount Group, a leading textile manufacturer based in Madurai, South India.
Paramount Aviation will take the two Embraer 170s directly from Embraer and operate
them in a single, all business class configuration with 70 seats. The Embraer
175s will be leased from GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) and will be
configured in a dual-class arrangement of 11 first class seats with full leg
rests and 64 business class seats. The GECAS aircraft are conversions from an
original order for Embraer 170s.
Both agreements are in the process of finalisation.
"Paramount is proud to be the first customer of Embraer E-Jets in India,"
announced Paramount Airways MD Mr. M. Thiagarajan. "We believe that
the new EMBRAER 170/175s will blend well with our unique business model, where
we have envisaged to offer unparalleled passenger comfort and services at
highly competitive fares."
"Embraer is excited to have its new E-Jets chosen by Paramount Airways,"
said Embraer President and CEO Mauricio Botelho. "The design and economics of
the Embraer 170 and 175 enable Paramount to offer 'big-jet' cabin comfort at
low operating costs, through the use of state-of-the art technology in the
cockpit, the engines, and in the operating systems of the aircraft."
"We are thrilled to have Paramount Aviation join our growing roster of airline
customers in India," said Tejpreet S. (T.P.) Chopra, Vice-President of
Marketing for GECAS. "The Embraer family of aircraft are well-suited for
airlines in the country, and we are pleased to offer a leasing solution that
meets our customer's needs."
The new Embraer family of four E-Jets was designed to fill the 70- to 110-
seat market gap, offering large-cabin amenities such as wide aisles and seats,
generous baggage stowage and overhead bins, and full-service galleys, while maintaining smaller jet economics with a high degree of commonality.
BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
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