indigo A350
Delhi-based low-cost airline IndiGo is likely to convert its purchase rights for up to 40 Airbus A350 aircraft, a senior Airbus official told a leading Indian economic daily, Economic Times, on Wednesday.
Benoit de Saint-Exupéry, Executive Vice President Sales of Commercial Aircraft, was quoted by the Economic Times saying, “They will order more aircraft. More likely would, because they believe they need those aircraft.” The Airbus Executive did not specify a timeframe for when the Indian airline will place the order, converting its purchase rights into firm orders (IndiGo likely to firm up orders for more Airbus A350s: Executive – The Economic Times).
IndiGo placed a firm order for 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft in April last year, apart from securing options on another 70 of this variety of aircraft. IndiGo did not comment on the report, and it was not immediately clear whether the new order would be for the A350-900 or the Airbus A350-1000. The delivery of the first Airbus A350 aircraft operated by IndiGo is expected in 2027 (IndiGo firms 30 Airbus A350-900s plus rights for 70 more).
IndiGo begins long-haul operations
The news broke days after IndiGo launched three times a week flights from Mumbai to Manchester and Amsterdam. IndiGo’s long-haul entry has been made possible thanks to a dry lease of Boeing 787 aircraft from Norse Atlantic Airways. The launch of these services marks IndiGo’s entry into the long-haul market to and from India.
While the service to Manchester was launched on July 1, the flight to Amsterdam started the following day (IndiGo flying to Amsterdam and Manchester from July |).
Deliveries should help Indian carriers carry more Indians abroad than foreign carriers
Over the last three years, Indian carriers have ordered more than 1,300 aircraft, including wide-body aircraft. The induction of these aircraft, which include over 470 by Air India, more than 500 by IndiGo, and 175 by start-up airline Akasa, should go a long way in ensuring that Indian carriers carry Indians going abroad instead of foreign airlines being the dominant players. In 2023, it was estimated that foreign airlines carried about 70 percent of Indians traveling abroad.
IndiGo has made a small start. In January this year, the airline announced that it had become the largest foreign operator, operating 54 weekly flights between India and Sri Lanka. It connects Jaffna and Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, to four Indian cities (https://deccanherald.com/opinion/poised-for-take-off-3364623).
IndiGo becomes the second Indian carrier to launch regular long-haul operations from India
The launch of the flights to Manchester and Amsterdam means that IndiGo has become the second Indian airline to launch long-haul flights directly from India. The other operator is Air India. Earlier, Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, operated on long-haul routes to and from India. Vistara merged with Air India last year.
The arrival of the Airbus A350 will enable IndiGo to expand even further globally. IndiGo currently operates to South Asian countries, such as Sri Lanka and Nepal, in addition to connecting India to Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Additionally, it operates in the Gulf and other parts of the world. It uses its single-aisle Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 on these routes.
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