Date:01/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/04/01/stories/2008040150080700.htm

Back Bidding adieu

Flying ’out’: The Airbus A300 aircraft inducted by erstwhile Indian (now Air India) was formally phased out on Monday. The last three wide-bodied Airbus A300 aircraft were phased out today. Air India had inducted the A300 aircraft into its fleet in 1976. The induction of this new generation aircraft into the fleet brought with it many firsts.

The Airbus A300 heralded a new era, with the wide bodied, twin-aisled aircraft being used on domestic sectors for the first time. It also marked the introduction of Executive Class for the first time for domestic travel. The Airbus A300 with a configuration of 32 Executive Class and 215 Economy Class seats catered to the growing traffic on metro sectors and was deployed on the trunk routes, linking one metro city with another. The aircraft in a way also helped to develop many international sectors such as Delhi-Kathmandu; Delhi-Kabul; Mumbai-Kozhikode-Sharjah; Chennai-Singapore, etc.