=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2005/08/19/financial/= f052213D13.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, August 19, 2005 (AP) India's Wadia Group Plans Low-Cost Airline By S. SRINIVASAN, Associated Press Writer (08-19) 05:22 PDT BANGALORE, India (AP) -- Indian industrial conglomerate Wadia group, best known for its textile brand Bombay Dyeing, will launch a low-cost airline in October and is in talks with Airbus and Boeing Co. to buy 50 new jets over the next five to seven years, an official said Friday. The new carrier, GoAir, will operate with up to 22 used Airbus A-320 planes for the first two years, when deliveries of the new planes will begin, Jeh Wadia, managing director of GoAirline (India) Pvt. Ltd, told The Associated Press. "We want to be the lowest-cost airline in India," Wadia said, adding his airline would target passengers traveling in air-conditioned train coaches and overnight bus services. Wadia declined to divulge investment details, but 50 new mid-size aircra= ft typically cost $3 billion under list prices. The first flight will take off from the western city of Bombay, where the Wadias have their head office, but its destination or other routes have not been decided yet, he said. Each flight will offer 180 seats in a single class. GoAir's acquisition plans take the total number of aircraft to be acquir= ed by Indian budget carriers in the next five years to 305. For decades, air travel in India had been expensive and largely dominated by state-owned carriers. But several new budget carriers have been attracting first-time flyers and aviation experts expect business to grow by 25 percent per year. In the fiscal year that ended March 2005, some 16 million plane tickets were sold in India. Budget carriers offer at least 30 percent lower fares compared to big carriers and have schemes that sell tickets for as low as $16 each. Budget carriers cut costs by doing away with in-flight meals, adding more seats, selling tickets on the Internet and working with a small crew. India's first low-cost carrier, Air Deccan, began operations in August 2003 and hopes to serve 4 million tickets in the fiscal year ending March 2006. SpiceJet and Kingfisher Airlines began operations in early 2005 and at least half a dozen budget carriers plan to begin operations in the next few months. The Wadia group is engaged in textiles, chemicals, food, plantations, health care and education. ___ On the Net: GoAir: www.goair.in -----------------------------------------------------------= ----------- Copyright 2005 AP