A source close to the development said low-fare carrier Air Deccan, domestic carrier Jet Airways and state-owned Air India and Indian Airlines have evinced interest in the A380.
Thus far, Kingfisher is the only Indian carrier seeking the plane, which has 853 seats in an all-economy configuration and 475-525 in a three-class configuration.
Airbus is hoping that even budget carriers and short-distance fliers will be able to see the cost benefits of flying a large number of passengers in one plane.
"This is ideal for budget carriers in India as A380 can be deployed on short-haul routes with minor changes in the engine structure," says a senior Airbus executive.
Boeing 747-400 and 747-800, favoured by many international air carriers, have 370 and 405 seats, respectively. Air Deccan managing director G R Gopinath said A380 was a superior airplane, but "we have no immediate plans".
Boeing operators beg to differ. "Operating the A380 would be too costly and not viable for a budget carrier. This airplane is designed for long-haul services," said an executive with an airline that runs a predominantly Boeing fleet. Boeing representatives could not be contacted for comment.
An airport executive said no airport was ready to handle commercial flights of A380 in India. "Airports will have to invest heavily to become compatible with A380.
Moreover, there could be natural restrictions to other carriers when an A380 is taking off. This will shoot up the cost of carriers and increase delays at airports," he added.
Kiran Rao, executive vice-president (marketing & contracts, customer affairs) of Airbus said, "All major airports of India are capable of handling A380 as it requires 10 per cent less runway length to take off and 5 per cent less to land compared with a Boeing 747." He said it also burned less fuel. Sources said Kingfisher was planning to convert its five options for buying A380 into firm orders, taking its total order to 10.
However, Vijay Mallya, the airline's chairman and CEO, said: "I am yet to take a decision in this regard. We are planning to deploy the plane on the India-US route for non-stop services. I will be offering US flights 30 per cent cheaper with A380."
© 2025