Flyington Freighters first to sign up for new Airbus freighter A330-200F

Mumbai: Flyington Freighters, a cargo airline company promoted by Indian publishing group Deccan Chronicle, will acquire six A330-200F aircraft from Airbus Industrie at a listed price of $1.1 billion. Flyington had earlier signed a $1 billion deal with Boeing for the acquisition of four of its B777 freighters.

With the deal, Flyington Freighters becomes the first cargo airline to order the A330-200F, the latest freighter offering from Airbus. "We are happy to be the first cargo airline to order the A330-200 Freighter. We ordered it because it offers us significant operational benefits and suits our business model," said T Venkatram Reddy, chairman, Flyington Freighters. The company expects the first aircraft to join the fleet in the second half of 2009.

As of now, no domestic company is involved in international cargo airline services. Blue Dart Aviation is the dominant domestic player in the cargo airline segment, with courier firm, First Flight, also foraying into the sector last year with three leased aircraft.

The A330-200F is a mid-size, long-haul all-cargo aircraft capable of carrying 64 metric tonne over 4000 nautical miles. According to Airbus, the aircraft offers 30 per cent more volume than any freighter in its class.

"India is one of the world's most important aviation markets right now and the development of locally based freight operations will play a big part in the growth of the region's cargo market. The A330-200 freighter has more lift, more range and better flexibility than any other freighter in its class," said John Leahy, chief operating officer, customers, Airbus.

One of the many advantages offered by the A330-200F is that it is the first freighter to introduce a versatile main-deck cargo loading system, which can accommodate both pallets and containers, enabling operators to service each of these very different markets.

Flyington Freighters plans to make Hyderabad a hub for its cargo operations and intends to operate to China, East Asia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Middle East, Los Angeles, New York and Europe. The company's initial capital outlay of $15 million will be contributed by promoters.