Lufthansa to start flying Airbus A380s to India later this year

Lufthansa to start flying Airbus A380s to India later this yearGerman airline Lufthansa has plans start flying superjumbo Airbus A380 planes on routes to India later this year.

India's civil aviation ministry on Monday lifted a landing ban on Airbus A380s, saying the operation of the superjumbo planes would provide passengers more comfortable and luxurious travel as well as allow airports to generate more revenue.

Christoph Franz, chief executive of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said that they definitely had plans to use the super jumbo jets in India but added that the launch would not be immediate as the airline's fleet of ten A380 planes is already committed to current schedules.

In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Franz said, "We are interested to use the A380 also for the major Indian markets. We will likely make it for the winter flight schedule of 2014-2015."

Earlier, Lufthansa had said that it had no immediate plans to start flying Airbus A380 planes on routes to India.

Airbus A380s will now be able to land at India's four international airports, in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, which are equipped to handle the superjumbo planes. The Airbus A380 can carry as many as 800 passengers in a single-class configuration and more than 500 passengers in a three-class set-up.

Singapore Airlines and Emirates are also expected to announce their plans about using the superjumbo planes on route to the world's second-most populous country soon.