Airbus A380 Superjumbo to fly into India

As part of its world tour, world's largest airliner Airbus A380 will cruise into the Indian skies shortly. European aircraft maker Airbus plans to bring the superjumbo, which can seat up to 850 passengers in a double-decker format, on a trial run in the first quarter of 2007. The airliner is expected to touch down in the national capital Delhi as well as the financial capital Mumbai as part of its flight plan. Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy as said, "We were earlier planning to fly the aircraft for the Bangalore Air Show in February." "But that airfield is too small. So we now plan to get the aircraft to Mumbai and Delhi sometime later," he added. Major world hubs which have already geared up to take the A380 include San Francisco and Singapore. India is among the few countries which have lined up to buy the superjumbo.

Kingfisher Airlines has already booked an order for the plane and is due to take delivery of the aircraft in 2011-12. With its larger 79.8-metre wingspan giving greater lift and its new generation engines, the A380 can take-off and land in less distance than other large aircraft. This makes it capable of using existing runways at Delhi and Mumbai airports are already capable of handling an A380 departure and landing, but the other facilities are being created. This wingspan, however, makes the A380 too large for most airport docking bays. London Heathrow's airport operator BAA Plc alone had budgeted $842 million to build larger facilities to handle the plane.

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