IndiGo orders 30 Airbus A350-900, entering wide-body market

IndiGo has placed an order for 30 A350-900 widebody aircraft with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus on April 25, 2024. Its deal is estimated to be between $4 billion and $5 billion.

• To meet the growing demand in the country's air travel market, the Indian carrier last year ordered four significant aircraft for 2023.

Air India Group, operated by Tata Group, orders 470 aircraft:

• Last year in February 2023, Tata Group-run Air India Group had ordered 470 aircraft. For this, a deal was signed with 250 European aircraft manufacturer Airbus while 220 with American aircraft manufacturer Boeing.

World's biggest aircraft deal:

• In June 2023, IndiGo placed the world's largest aircraft order by signing a deal for 500 A320neo family aircraft from Airbus.

Other global aeronautics deals:

• In January 2024, new airline Akasa Air ordered 150 B737 MAX aircraft from Boeing.

IndiGo is buying widebody aircraft for its fleet for the first time:

• The April 25 order is the first time that IndiGo is purchasing widebody aircraft for its fleet. However, India's largest airline has some experience with widebody aircraft. Because it currently operates two B777 aircraft leased from Turkish Airlines.
• Indigo Airlines is planning to launch an entertainment unit on the Delhi-Goa route on a trial basis.

Supply of A350-900 aircraft to IndiGo will start from 2027:

• The A350-900 aircraft are likely to be delivered to IndiGo from 2027. The exact configuration of the A350-900 aircraft to IndiGo will be decided at a later stage.
• In addition to the 30 aircraft A350-900 order, IndiGo has purchase rights for an additional 70 Airbus A350s.

Characteristics of widebody planes:

• Widebody aircraft have larger fuel tanks and engines than narrowbody aircraft. Large fuel tanks enable them to travel long distances.
• The A350-900 aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce's Trent XWB engines.

Long distance travel will now become easier for Indigo:

• Rolls-Royce's Trent XWB engine has a range of approximately 15,000 kilometers. This capability means that IndiGo will now be able to operate intercontinental travel. It will be able to operate non-stop flights on long-haul and ultra-long-haul routes such as India-US, India-Australia and India-Europe.
• This puts IndiGo in a position to compete directly with Air India and other foreign carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways on these lucrative routes.

Indigo will have 990 aircraft in its fleet by 2035:

• The order of 500 aircraft, ordered in June 2023, is scheduled to be delivered to IndiGo between 2030 and 2035.
• From its previous order with Airbus, the airline is scheduled to receive delivery of approximately 460 aircraft by 2030. Therefore, by 2035, Indigo Airlines will have a total fleet of 990 aircraft (30 + 500 + 460).