Kingfisher, the Indian company best known in Britain for its beer, bought nearly $7 billion (£3.5 billion) of new aircraft from Airbus yesterday as it seeks to dominate the booming Indian aviation market.

The order announcement was made at the Paris Air Show, along with a clutch of other deals for Boeing and Airbus. The Kingfisher order will give the airline an expanded long-haul fleet to boost services to Britain and Europe.

Airbus did nearly $20 billion of new business yesterday, on top of $7 billion on Tuesday and $45 billion on Monday. Another significant announcement from the company was that it has received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency to use mobile phones on its aircraft.

Airbus’s technology will allow passengers to use BlackBerry-type devices and their mobile phones during flights. Cabin crew will be able to switch off the system during take-off, landing and during quiet times, when most passengers want to sleep. The technology will be used only on flights within Europe initially, but it has been pushed into operation by Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, and will appear on international flights once certification is granted.

Boeing had a quieter day after its $8.8 billion order on Tuesday. It sold $2.7 billion of aircraft to Air France-KLM.

Times Recommends

• C&G axed - 1,660 jobs to be lost
• UK house prices rise 1.1% as buyers return
• Mixed reaction to US banks repaying bailouts