IndiGo is in talks with Airbus for another large plane order in a sign Asia’s biggest budget carrier has no intention of letting up on a blistering pace of expansion. The Indian airline, which adds an aircraft to its fleet every week, is in discussions to buy a longer-range version of the European planemaker’s newest narrow-body jet, according to CEO Ronojoy Dutta. Existing orders will see IndiGo through the next two years, Dutta said. After that, the carrier is considering adding new planes including Airbus’s long-distance A321neo LR and the yet-to-be-released A321 XLR, he said. “When we order, we’ll order in bulk for sure,” Dutta said. “I can’t give you a tentative number, but it will be large. We need longer range.” Though Dutta didn’t specify the size of IndiGo’s next purchase, it’s likely to be a multi-billion-dollar order based on the company’s history. Its smallest order so far was for 100 A320 jets in 2005 worth $6b at list prices at the time. Given that the most-basic variant of the A320neo family today carry sticker prices of more than $100m each, a large order could exceed $10b.<br/>
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Kuwait Airways has disclosed that a ground-support worker was killed during a towing accident at the company’s base airport on 6 May. The accident occurred at around 15:10, the airline says. It occurred as the worker performed the tractor towing of a Kuwait Airways Boeing 777-300ER, which had neither crew nor passengers on board at the time. The aircraft was being towed from a parking area to Kuwait airport’s Terminal 4, says the carrier. Kuwaiti authorities have commenced an investigation into the fatal accident to understand the circumstances. Images from the scene indicate the aircraft involved is 9K-AOH, which was delivered to the flag-carrier just over two years ago.<br/>
Authorities say deceased pets have been recovered from a chartered jet that ran into a river at a Florida military base. Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement late Sunday that a dog and two cats were recovered in their carriers from the Boeing 737 that skidded into the St. Johns River after landing at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. None of the 143 human passengers and crew members had serious injuries from the landing Friday night. Despite trying twice, rescuers were unable to remove the pets from the cargo area immediately after the landing because that section of the plane was underwater. Divers were sent in Sunday to retrieve the animals.<br/>