Kingfisher Airways announced today that it will be acquiring
5 Ultra Long Range (ULR) Airbus A340-500HGW to operate non-stop services from India to the USA. The Airbus A340-500 series is
currently being used by Singapour Airlines to fly non-stop between Singapore
(SIN) and Los Angeles (LAX) and by Emirates to
fly non-stop to New York
(JFK) from Dubai (DXB). The model ordered by Kingfisher Airlines is the High
Gross Weight (HGW) version of this aircraft which will have an ever longer
range that the original 500 series.
The Airbus A340-500 has a direct competitor which is the Boeing 777-200LR
Worldliner which entered service with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
this year. The Boeing 777-200LR will also be joining Air Indias fleet.