Airbus A380 Makes 1st Landing in India

By RAJESH MAHAPATRA

NEW DELHI – The world’s largest passenger plane – the Airbus A380 – made its first landing in India on Sunday, amid hopes by its maker that more Indian airlines will buy the super jumbo as the country’s rapid globalization drives demand for long-haul flights.

Onlookers cheered as the A380 circled twice over New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport before landing. At 148 feet, the runway was not wide enough for the behemoth double-decker, but airport officials cleaned up the grass shoulders along the sides to make way for the jet’s wings, which span nearly a football field.

Airbus plans to formally display the plane at a news conference Monday.

The 555-seat jet can hold 81,890 gallons of fuel, cruise at 560 miles per hour and fly some 8,000 nautical miles nonstop.

Only one airline in India has ordered an A380 so far. Kingfisher Airlines is buying five of the jets, with the first to be delivered in 2011.

Private airlines in India were only recently allowed to fly overseas, and by the time Airbus began taking orders for the A380, state-run Air India – the country’s national carrier – had already decided to buy 68 planes from Boeing Co.

But a boom in air travel in India in recent years has helped private airlines grow rapidly and expand beyond domestic routes. Many private airlines are now ramping up plans for long-haul flights.

In February, Airbus officials said they were talking to another Indian airline about a possible sale of A380s, which have a list price of about $292 million, although airlines often receive discounts depending on the size of their orders.

Airlines in India also have been skeptical about the pace of modernization at major airports in the country, which are currently not equipped to accommodate the A380. Airports in New Delhi and Mumbai are expected to be ready with new runways by 2010 that can handle the super jumbo aircraft.

The plane is to fly from New Delhi to Mumbai on Tuesday.