Business Day / Wednesday 25 December 2002 http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1253316-6078-0,00.html NEW DELHI - European plane maker Airbus said Tuesday it believed it had closed the deal with Indian Airlines to sell 43 aircraft despite mounting US pressure on the government to pick rival Boeing. The board of Indian Airlines, which urgently needs to revamp its ageing fleet, has already agreed to the massive deal with Airbus worth more than $2-billion. Indian Airlines said in a statement March 27 that the Airbus planes were "the most economic solution for the route network" of the carrier. But official sources said US officials were trying to persuade the Indian government to overturn Indian Airlines' decision and choose Boeing. Dinesh Keskar, Boeing's senior vice president of sales said the US aircraft maker was willing to do business with Indian Airlines "should they want to do so". However, Airbus regional press manager David Velupillai said the European consortium considered the deal, the largest ever from India, to be closed. "Indian Airlines chose the Airbus A320 family over the Boeing 737 family following a thorough evaluation, in an open and rigorous competition," he said in a written statement. "In addition, Indian Airlines already operates 30 A320s, so adding more of the same family is a natural progression. The reality is thus that the A320 beat the 737 family fair and square, and the decision has been made," he added. The order by Indian Airlines, which mostly flies domestic routes, is one of the biggest ever by the state carrier. In addition, state-run Air India, the country's international carrier, has decided to buy 17 new planes, but has not yet identified its choice of aircraft. A European industry official told AFP the stakes were so high that a reversal of the Indian Airlines decision could affect the European Union's relations with India. A final decision on the aircraft purchase is expected to be taken by the Indian cabinet. Indian Airlines and subsidary Alliance Air has a fleet of about 50 aircraft of which about half are an ageing mix of Boeing 737-200s and Airbus A-300s. The airline's last aircraft purchase was in 1989, of 18 Airbus A-320s. With 20,000 employees, it has one of the highest employee-to-aircraft ratios in the industry. Airbus' Velupillai also rejected its rival's contention that the Boeing 777 aircraft was the best choice for Air India because of its ability to fly non-stop to the United States from New Delhi or Bombay. "The Airbus A340 has the range to fly nonstop from Delhi and Mumbai (Bombay) to New York and Los Angeles. As a four-engined aircraft, the A340 is intrinsically better at very long ranges," he said. "In addition, its four engines give it the flexibility to operate over some of the most remote terrain on the planet - namely the polar regions - with the ability to continue to its destination, even if an engine fails," he added. Boeing's Keskar had said the 777-200 ER planes were perfect for Air India and said the Airbus 340-300, which is in the race, did not have the same capabilities. Air India has a fleet of 23 aircraft. The last time the airline purchased aircraft was in 1993 when it bought six Boeing 747-400 aircraft.