By 2027, IndiGo plans to establish nonstop flights between India and remote regions of the globe, utilizing its own wide-body aircraft. The massive low-cost airline created by Rahul Bhatia said on Thursday that it "has agreed" to make a definite order for thirty twin aisle Airbus A350-900, which are worth at over $9.5 billion at list price, with an option for seventy additional of these enormous aircraft.
Indian travelers will have several of options with two desi airlines, AI and IndiGo, running medium to super long-haul flights on twin aisles, in addition to the option of taking multiple international carriers. Tata Group's Air India is currently operating twin aisles (Vistara merges into AI this year).For its 30 A350s, IndiGo has also "agreed to order" 60 Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.
Though IndiGo investigated the B787 Dreamliner, it ultimately decided to remain with its trusty Airbus, since it is already the largest operator of this best-seller worldwide and has over 1,000 A320 family single aisles on order. This is because of the ongoing nightmares at Boeing. Airbus is the market leader in India for single aisle aircraft, but ailing Boeing is no longer the only large aircraft operator serving Indian airlines; since last year, its European rival has also been receiving orders for large aircraft, beginning with AI.
IndiGo has wet leased (hired with operational crew) two B777s from Turkish Airlines to run a daily route between Delhi/Mumbai and Istanbul, dipping its toe into the wide body market. Following that experience, it ultimately placed an order for its own wide bodies, the delivery of which is scheduled to begin in 2027—the year IndiGo turns 21. "At its discretion, for possible future needs under certain conditions," the airline states, it will consider placing an order for seventy additional A350-900s.
In 2023, IndiGo carried over 10 crore passengers on its more than 350 planes. IndiGo has the capacity to transport large numbers of people to and from its hubs because it leads the domestic market with a market share of more than 60%.
CEO of IndiGo Pieter Elbers stated: With a fleet of 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, IndiGo will be able to enter the next phase of its growth into one of the major players in the global aviation industry. Thursday's historic moment marks a new chapter for IndiGo and will further shape the future of the airline and for Indian aviation at the same time.
The single aisle A321XLRs (extra long range) that IndiGo will begin receiving next year have a range of over 8,500 kilometers and can go from Seoul on the one side to western Europe (not the UK) and India on the other.
