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BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
May 14, 2005: May 14, 2005: Jet Airways India Ltd is to add four Airbus planes to its fleet in the current fiscal, apart from the Boeing aircraft it has placed orders for, to support its expansion of services in both in domestic and international sectors.
Jet Airways intends to acquire a series of A 330-200 jets from Airbus Industrie, which would be used on its long haul routes, including for the to be launched international schedules.
"We have selected Airbus aircraft because of its high degree of operational flexibility and economy," Jet Airways Executive Director Saroj K Datta said.
The Airbus planes would be pressed into service for Jet Airways' overseas flights, including recently-launched sectors like Colombo, Kathmandu and Singapore.
Jet Airways has issued a Letter of Intent to International Lease Finance Corporation to lease four new Airbus aircraft. The execution of the lease would be subject to mutually acceptable documents and approvals as may be required, he said, adding, it expected delivery of the Airbus aircraft to start in May 2006.
Earlier, the carrier had announced plans to acquire 10 Boeing aircraft for its domestic operations in the current fiscal and had earmarked a total of $400 million to buy and lease the jets. In the domestic sector, the airline operates 275 flights, connecting to over 45 destinations.
Meanwhile, Jet Airways has inducted an Airbus A340-300E into its fleet, which would be pressed into service on its long-haul routes, including that for Mumbai-London, which begins on May 23, 2005.
This is the first of three A340-300E aircraft, which are being inducted into the Jet Airways' fleet through May and June 2005. The A340-300E aircraft was selected because of its high degree of operational flexibility and economy combined with optimal passenger comfort, Jet Airways officials said.
For the operations of the A340-300E aircraft, Jet Airways has signed up with Lufthansa Technik for maintenance support and assignment of qualified engineers. Jet has also appointed Captain Gustav Baldauf, previously Executive Vice President - Flight Operations with Austrian Airlines, as Vice-President - Flight operations.
BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
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