IndiGo places largest-ever single aircraft purchase by any airline; orders for 500 planes with Airbus

By Team Newsable  |  First Published Jun 19, 2023, 9:37 PM IST

IndiGo on Monday announced placing a firm order for 500 A320 family planes with European aviation major Airbus at the Paris Air Show.


At the Paris Air Show, budget airline IndiGo announced on Monday that it has placed a solid order with European aviation giant Airbus for 500 aircraft from the A320 series. According to a statement from IndiGo, this is the largest aircraft order ever placed with Airbus by any airline. Financial information about the order was kept confidential.

At the Paris Air Show 2023, the airline and Airbus inked the contract for the purchase of the aircraft. According to the airline located in Gurugram, this (order) will give IndiGo a continuous stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035.

BREAKING: IndiGo announces a massive order of 500 Airbus Neo family aircraft, to be delivered between 2030-2035 pic.twitter.com/aexovcsZ6V

— Anu Sharma (@awnusharma)

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At the moment, IndiGo runs more than 300 aircraft. According to the airline, it has unfulfilled orders for 480 aircraft totaling its total number of previous orders. According to the statement, the A320NEO, A321NEO, and A321XLR aircraft in this IndiGo order book are mixed.

The contract for an IndiGo aircraft comes months after the Tata Group's revitalised Air India signed an order with Boeing and Airbus for 470 aircraft.

"IndiGo is further defining its long-term future, well into the next decade, by placing a firm order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. This will provide IndiGo a further steady stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035," the airline said.

The Board of IndiGo was informed of the appraisal of the bids, had a discussion regarding it, and then approved it. According to the company, this new purchase would provide IndiGo and Airbus' strategic partnership an unprecedented level of depth and breadth.

Breaking: It’s done! Here in Paris, IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, has placed a firm order for 500 A320 Family aircraft, setting the record for the largest single purchase agreement in the history of commercial aviation. Huge. pic.twitter.com/I5SFtsmjww

— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir)

"We look forward to contributing to the growth of India's air connectivity in its domestic network and into international markets through the expansion of this formidable partnership," said Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International at Airbus, in its release.

"It is difficult to overstate the significance of IndiGo's new historic order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. An order book now of almost 1000 aircraft well into the next decade, enables IndiGo to fulfil its mission to continue to boost economic growth, social cohesion and mobility in India," an Airbus release quoted Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, as saying.

The expansion of India, the A320 family, and our strategic collaboration with Airbus are all firmly supported by this order, he continued.

BREAKING: Airbus announces deal with Indian LCC Indigo for 500 A320neo family aircraft, the largest single deal in aviation history. pic.twitter.com/lzpeIOaJvW

— Jon Ostrower (@jonostrower)

With this latest order, IndiGo will have placed a staggering total of 1,330 aircraft orders with Airbus since its founding in 2006.

In addition to being IndiGo's greatest order, it was reported that Airbus had never seen a single airline purchase more than 500 aircraft.

With this extra definite order for 500 aircraft for the years 2030–2035, IndiGo claimed its order book still contains around 1,000 aircraft that will need to be delivered well into the following ten years.

According to a statement from IndiGo, using aircraft from the fuel-efficient A320NEO Family will enable it to continue focusing on reducing operational costs and achieving fuel efficiency while maintaining high standards of reliability.

According to IndiGo, the exact ratio of A320 and A321 aircraft will be determined in due time, along with the choice of engines for this purchase.

With its present fleet and the nearly 1,000 aircraft that are still to be delivered, IndiGo is not only well-positioned to extend and densify its unrivalled network, but it is also crucial that IndiGo will play a full part in achieving this aim, according to the airline. 

 

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