Paramount Airways Pvt. Ltd is in talks with aircraft makers Boeing Co. and Airbus Industrie to buy six wide-bodied planes with an aim of launching international operations by fiscal 2011.



The airline, which has so far restricted itself to southern India with an all-Embraer fleet of five leased aircraft, also plans to establish a new aircraft maintenance facility in Madurai in collaboration with Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica SA at an estimated $40-60 million (Rs161-242 crore) investment.

“We are evaluating both wide-bodied aircraft—(Boeing’s) 787 and 350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body of Airbus),” said Paramount’s chairman M. Thiagarajan on the airline’s growth plans. He did not specify when the deal could be sealed.

Dinesh Keskar, vice-president for sales at Boeing, confirmed initial talks with Paramount.

Paramount’s five 70-seater aircraft are capable of flying four hours non-stop and may also connect nearby destinations in South-East Asia such as Singapore if the government relaxes rules for flying international routes.

20/09/07 Tarun Shukla/Livemint