The cheapest airline in the world, IndiGo, revealed on Monday that it had placed a firm order for 500 Airbus A320 family narrowbody aircraft. This is the largest single aircraft order placed by any airline in history.
Deliveries of the newly-ordered aircraft will take place between 2030 and 2035. The airline noted that the order book comprises of A320 New Engine Options (NEO), A321NEO, and A321XLR aircraft but did not identify the precise mix of A320 and A321 aircraft that make up the A320 family. The order’s price was kept a secret. The airline now has a fleet of more than 300 aircraft, with another 480 aircraft still on order and waiting to be delivered. This indicates that a total of 980 aircraft are anticipated to be delivered by the following year.
Deliveries of the newly-ordered aircraft will take place between 2030 and 2035.
During a virtual press conference from Toulouse, where the agreement was signed at the ongoing Paris Air Show, the airline’s CEO, Pieter Elbers, responded to a query from the leading newspaper by saying, “IndiGo plans to double in size by the end of 2030 by inducting the 480 aircraft it expects to be delivered from the previous order.” The purchase placed on Monday surpasses the 470 aircraft that Air India ordered from Airbus and Boeing in February.
In terms of market share (61.4%) and fleet size, IndiGo is the industry leader in India and plans to carry 100 million passengers by the end of the year. “This order is historic. No other airline in the world has more than 800 aircraft on order than IndiGo currently has. According to CAPA India CEO & Director Kapil Kaul, the country’s top newspaper, “Indian aviation is set for a stable, and long-term expansion along with Air India’s order of 470 jets.
IndiGo plans to double in size by the end of 2030 by inducting the 480 aircraft it expects to be delivered from the previous order.
The significance of IndiGo’s latest, unprecedented order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft is difficult to overstate, according to Elbers. In order to continue fostering India’s economic growth, social cohesion, and mobility, IndiGo has an order book of approximately 1,000 aircraft that extends well into the next ten years. We at IndiGo are proud to be one of the top airlines in the world and India’s preferred airline for connectivity within and to India.
Let us tell you, In February, Air India placed orders for 470 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, including 70 wide-body A350, Boeing 787, and B777X aircraft valued at $70 billion at list price. The order book for IndiGo currently contains just single aisle aircraft, although the airline has left the door open to adding widebodies to its fleet in the future. Turkish Airlines’ two wide body, which are used on the routes between Delhi and Istanbul and Mumbai and Istanbul, have been wet-leased (hired with operational crew).
The significance of IndiGo’s latest, unprecedented order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft is difficult to overstate, according to Elbers.
With Pratt & Whitney and CFM as the two alternatives, IndiGo will choose the engines “in due course” in addition to the “exact mix of A320 and A321 aircraft.” Boeing has also presented a compelling case for the B737MAX single-aisle aircraft.
