'Kingfisher in talks for Airbus A340'

Kingfisher has signed a deal to purchase 15 ATR 72-500 for $270 mn, with the option to buy another 20 of the short-haul aircraft.

India's privately owned Kingfisher Airlines is in negotiations with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for the possible purchase of long-range A340 jets, the president of the airline's parent firm said on Monday.

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"We are in discussions with Airbus" over the wide-body aircraft for use on India-US routes, the chairman of UB Group, Vijay Mallya, said.

"We haven't agreed on the price yet," Mallya said ahead of the opening Tuesday of Asian Aerospace, the world's third-largest airshow.

Kingfisher, a low-cost carrier which began operations in May, does not expect to announce new deals during this week's airshow, Mallya said.

Last year the company placed several Airbus orders -- five A380s, the world's largest commercial passenger liner, five A350s, a new long-range plane under development, five A330s and some 30 A319 and 320 smaller aircraft.

On Sunday, Kingfisher signed a deal to purchase 15 ATR 72-500 aircraft for $270 million, with the option to buy another 20 of the short-haul aircraft.

Kingfisher has said it plans to go international when rules permit.