Kingfisher, Jet Airways backpedal on aircraft deliveries

17 October 2008

Hyderabad: Private domestic carrier Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways, who entered into an operational alliance, early this week have both either cancelled or deferred orders and deliveries for aircraft. Kingfisher has cancelled deliveries of three Airbus A-340 aircraft, a top Airbus official said here Thursday.

Airbus chief operating officer (customers) John Leahy told reporters his company has held talks with Kingfisher on the issue. Hr stressed that this was the only cancellation from India.

Asked about reports that Kingfisher had also deferred deliveries of 32 narrow-bodied A-320 aircraft, Leahy said: "There is nothing new in it."

Meanwhile, a senior executive from Jet Airways, India's top private domestic carrier, said that the carrier was also considering returning some of its leased aircraft faced with a decline in demand.

"We are looking at the possibility of returning some aircraft," chief commercial officer Sudheer Raghavan told the media on Thursday. He said that the carrier was reviewing its fleet requirements given the downturn in the international and domestic business.

According to Leahy, India remained a key market for Airbus despite the slowdown. An Airbus forecast for India says that the country would have the fastest growth in air travel over the next decade, which is expected to be 9.7 per cent against the average global growth rate of 5.4 per cent.