Indian budget airlines Air Deccan has signed an agreement with European consortium Airbus Industrie to purchase 30 aircraft for 1.5 billion US dollars, the airline said Saturday, according to DPA. The deal was signed earlier this week and the delivery of the 30 A320 aircraft would begin from 2008, the airline added. "The acquisition will help us in increasing the number of flights and also connect newer destinations besides expediting our growth plans," Air Deccan chief G.R. Gopinath was quoted as saying. Air Deccan had placed orders for 32 Airbus A 320s and 30 ATR 72- 500s earlier this year. With the latest deal it would be acquiring 92 new aircraft. The Bangalore-headquartered Air Deccan has seen phenomenal growth since it started operations with a single ATR aircraft in 2003. Currently it has a fleet of 24 aircraft comprising seven Airbus and 17 ATRs connecting over 30 destinations across India. The budget airline, which offers some of the lowest fares in India starting at about 12 U.S. dollars, will receive eight A 320s in 2006, followed by 10 every year over the next few years.
