Kingfisher Airlines has ordered five Airbus 340-500 aircraft and taken options on five more, the European aircraft maker said on April 24, 2006.

Mumbai-based Kingfisher will take delivery of the mid-sized A340-500 planes in 2008, Airbus said.

Airbus and Kingfisher representatives signed the deal in Hanover, Germany, at a ceremony attended by visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Kingfisher, one of a new breed of fast-growing Indian low-cost airlines, is already scheduled to take delivery of 30 smaller single-aisle Airbus jets in coming months, in addition to the eight A320s and four A319s already on its fleet.

Kingfisher has also placed firm orders for five A380 super jumbos, five mid-sized A330s and five A350s for use on long-range international services.

The long-range, fuel-efficient A350 is due to enter commercial service in 2010, two years behind the rival Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Airbus is 80 per cent owned by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.; Britain's BAE Systems PLC owns the rest.

(www.financialexpress.com)