Jun 16 2011 , Mumbai
Wadia-group promoted GoAir has placed an order for 72 Airbus A320 NEO (new engine option) aircraft worth Rs 32,400 crore ($7.2 billion). The low-cost airline has joined IndiGo and SpiceJet, which too have placed huge orders with Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier to expand their fleet to increase connectivity. “Our total order with Airbus is now 92 aircraft, including these 72 aircraft, worth Rs 43,200 crore ($9.6 billion),” Jeh Wadia, MD of GoAir said in Mumbai on Thursday.
The airline had previously placed an order for 20 A320s, of which 10 have been delivered and the remaining will be delivered in the next 24 months.
Earlier this year, Rahul Bhatia-promoted IndiGo Airlines placed a $15.6-billion order with Airbus for 180 aircraft – 150 A320 NEO and 30 A320, the single largest order in commercial aviation history till date.
In November, SpiceJet signed an agreement with Boeing to purchase 30 next-generation 737-800 aircraft valued at $2.3 billion and agreed to buy 15 Q400 next-gen turboprop aircraft worth $446 million, placing 15 aircraft more on option.
Wadia said the airline was evaluating various fund-raising options to fund the aircraft acquisition. “It will be a combination of sale and leaseback, debt and equity,” he said. Deliveries will start from 2015 when the A320 NEO aircraft will be launched. The 150-seater plane offers up to 15 per cent fuel saving and the operating cost is 11 per cent lower than that of the existing A320.GoAir is yet to finalise the engine option for the aircraft. “We have two options for engines – CFM International LEAP-X or Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G geared turbofan. We will finalise the engine option in the first quarter of the next calendar year,” Giorgio De Roni, CEO of GoAir, said.
GoAir flies to 18 destinations in India, with a focus on the routes of Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore. “We will now focus on smaller cities,” Wadia said, adding there is “bloodbath” on the international routes. “We do not foresee flying on international routes in the medium term,” he said.
The country’s largest airline by market share, Jet Airways, is also expected to place orders with Airbus at the Paris Air Show later this month.
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