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New Delhi, Mar 16: Airbus Industrie of France and the Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) plan to cooperate on a multi-million dollar deal for conversion of A320 aircraft into freighters.
Airbus envisages that the joint venture will take at least two to three years to take-off. Airbus and HAL have signed an MoU to study the feasibility of the project and a report on the subject will be ready by the end of the year. Around 1400 passenger aircraft of the A320 family are currently in operation. To convert them into freighters, the doors and floor of these aircraft will have to be replaced.
The conversion of the A320s into freighters will involve hefty expenditure and it remains to be seen whether HAL manages to dig-up the resources to invest in the venture once the feasibility report is ready. The Toulouse-based Airbus Industrie, which along with rival Boeing forms a duopoly in the civil aircraft market, is willing to invest only half the funds needed for the venture with HAL. HAL will have toshell-out the remaining resources necessary for the deal.
"We are looking at a 50:50 joint venture. However, it is too early to speculate at the kind of investment which will be needed. I can only say that the deal will be worth several millions of dollars" said Airbus Industrie (India) president Kiran Rao. HAL is already making doors for Airbus aircraft. However, the conversions of the passenger aircraft into freighters will require considerable technical skill and upgradation of the production facilities at HAL. The company will also have to work-out several modalities such as the transport of the aircaft.
The need for conversion of the passenger aircraft into frieghters has been felt by the owner airlines as the A320 is one of the earliest aircraft offered by Airbus making all the aircraft around 20-years-old. As these aircraft have to be replaced with new ones, the old A320s can be converted into freighters. Airbus is unwilling to disrupt its assembly lines, which are involved in constructing newpassenger aircraft, for the conversions.
"We decided that it makes more sense to get the conversions done at another site", said Airbus regional manager press relations David Velupillai. For HAL, the deal, if it materialises, could prove to be a leap into manufacture of civil aircraft.
Airbus forays into military aircraft
Airbus Industrie, which specialises in making commercial passenger aircraft, has made a foray into manufacture of military aircraft. The consortium will not make any fighter aircraft.
It will only make military transport aircraft for personnel. The new aircraft, termed the A310 Wedgetail, has been offered to Australia.
"We are not going into military fighter aircraft. This is just an extension of the civil range of passenger aircraft" said Velupillai.
The consortium will involve three new partner companies, from Italy and Spain, have been invited to join the consortium.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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