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India buys 43 Airbus jets for US$2.2b
India has approved the long-delayed purchase of 43 planes from European aircraft maker Airbus Industrie for state-run Indian Airlines for 2.2 billion dollars, AFP reported. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "Our government has announced today the purchase of 43 Airbus aircraft worth 2.2 billion dollars," at a press conference after talks in New Delhi with European Union leaders led by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Indian Airlines board had agreed on the acquisition of 20 Airbus A-319s, 19 A-321s and four A-320s more than two years ago but a final decision had been delayed by required clearances from several layers of the government because of the order's size. A ministerial panel led by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram held final price negotiations Tuesday with Airbus for the purchase of the 43 planes. "We all know that the Airbus has been highly successful aircraft around the world," Blair said, adding the purchase was a welcome sign of growing trade relations between the European Union and India. In April, Airbus executives in India complained that the government had favored US rival Boeing which won a seven-billion-dollar contract for 50 long-range 787 aircraft from state-run international carrier Air India. The contract remains subject to federal government approval. Indian Airlines mainly flies domestic routes but also serves to some regional, Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian destinations. The carrier said it needed new planes after it lost market share to private airline Jet Airways, which has one of Asia's newest Boeing fleets, and several new low-cost airlines.
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