New Delhi (India), 20th June 2023: On the first day of the Paris Airshow, Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo placed an order with Europe’s Airbus for 500 narrow-body jets, marking the largest-ever purchase of aircraft by a single airline.
The multibillion-dollar agreement surpasses Air India’s deal earlier this year of the combined acquisition of 470 aircraft. The country’s two biggest airlines are preparing for a strong increase in regional travel demand.
Following months of discussions, IndiGo has finally placed an order for A320neo-family aircraft. Before the Le Bourget exhibition, industry insiders claimed that a 500-plane contract was nearly finalised.
IndiGo Chief Executive Pieter Elbers while talking to media in Paris said, “This is just the beginning, there’s more going forward. With the growth of India (and) the growth of the Indian aviation market … this is the right time for us to place this order.”
Deliveries of the aircraft will take place between 2030 and 2035.
He further said, “We are actually very excited with the announcement which we have just made for IndiGo. This is the largest order for IndiGo, not only that, even the largest order ever placed for a single aircraft type with Airbus and, a historic moment for Indian aviation.”
The CEO added, “It speaks to the growth of India. It speaks to the future of India and it speaks to the future of IndiGo. So this order of 500 aircraft makes the total number of aircraft to be delivered a little short of 1000 today.
There’s 482 aircraft in the pipeline, being delivered between today and the end of the decade.”
By the end of this decade, IndiGo will have received 480 additional aircraft from prior orders. Indigo currently operates over 300 planes.
Elbers said, “It means these thousand aircraft which are going to be delivered will help the country move forward; will help IndiGo move forward, to make sure that we live up to our promise and continue to build our-unparalleled network (in) both domestic India and as well as internationally.”
