World's largest plane to land in India on May 7

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, Apr 26: Airbus A380, the world's largest airliner that can seat up to 850 passengers in a double-decker format, will cruise into the Indian skies next month as part of its world tour.

This is the first time that an A380 is visiting India. It is scheduled to be in New Delhi and Mumbai from May 7 to 10.

Kingfisher is the first and the only airline from India to sign up for the A380 and has 10 aircraft on order with five firm orders and further options for five more aircraft. It will launch a promotional campaign which will give select guests a chance to be the first to fly on board the A380.

The aircraft is expected to enter commercial service with Singapore Airlines (SIA) in October. Kingfisher is due to take delivery of the aircraft in 2011-12.

Airbus officials were earlier planning to fly the aircraft for the Bangalore Aero India air show in February. But that airfield is too small.

Existing runways at Delhi and Mumbai airports are already capable of handling an A380 departure and landing. Other facilities are being created.

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. This wingspan, however, makes the A380 too large for most airport docking bays.

India is among the few countries which have lined up to buy the superjumbo, that has been facing production delays in the recent past.

The A380 is a double-deck, four-engined airliner manufactured by EADS (Airbus SAS). It first flew on April 27, 2005 from Toulouse in France.

During much of its development phase, the aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX. The nickname Superjumbo has become associated with the A380.

The A380's upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage. This allows for a spacious cabin with 50 per cent more floor space than the next largest airliner, the Boeing 747-400, and provides seating for 555 people in standard three-class configuration or up to 853 people in full economy class configuration.

The A380-800 has a maximum range of 15,000 km, sufficient to fly from Chicago to Sydney nonstop, and a cruising speed of about 900 km per hour. It is set to challenge the Boeing 747's long dominance of the jumbo jet market.

UNI

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