More Indian carriers may opt for Airbus A321s: Official

TOULOUSE: Airbus expects one or more of its Indian customers to convert orders for the 180-seater A320 planes into the bigger 200 plus-seater A321s, its vice-president strategy and marketing Kiran Rao, said on Thursday. "We are in discussions of moving up to the A321s," Rao told ET on the sidelines of the Airbus Innovation Days 2015. He added "almost all" of Airbus' Indian customers have the option to convert A320 orders to A321s and said that it will likely happen before 2020.

The orders will be for the A321 neos, the so-called New Engine Options which are the upgraded version of Airbus' single aisle aircraft family. A move to A321 would be indicative of airlines' plans to start more short-haul international operations, termed by industry experts as a significantly lucrative market.

Airbus has a total of 196 planes flying in India, which includes 145 A320s. It has a firm order of 252 A320 planes from IndiGo and GoAir, and an MoU for another 250. IndiGo has taken government approval for inducting an additional 120 planes while Vistara has said it plans to add another 14 in the next few years.

Rao had in an earlier interview said Indian carriers will first graduate to longer haul single aisle aircraft before placing major orders for wide bodied planes.

Earlier in the day, Airbus' chief operating officer John Leahy said Airbus is optimistic about the Indian market although it will continue to trail China and has issues related to infrastructure and regulation.

"I see that (Indian) market developing. It's developing more slowly than China...we just hope the economy would grow a little more rapidly ," he said. "I think there are some infrastructure problems, some regulatory problems that need to be fixed. I see this new government is moving in the right direction to cut out bureaucracy and to improve infrastructure in the country ," he added.

India's aviation industry remains one of the fastest growing in the world, although it is still a miniscule fraction of the global aviation market. A change in government last year and the resultant positive sentiment has led to a double-digit growth in air traffic which had slumped in the last two year. Number of local flyers in the country increased 23.3% in April on year, the highest increase rate in seven months.