Airbus landed its biggest-ever aircraft deal in the history of commercial aviation on the opening day of the Paris Air Show when Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo placed an order for 500 of its A320 planes, for delivery between 2030 and 2035, said media reports.
Worth almost $50 billion at list price, though IndiGo would have got a hefty discount thanks to the scale and the airline’s impeccable credentials, the latest order is also the largest-ever single aircraft purchase by any airline globally with Airbus, reported Times of India.
India’s largest budget airline has 480 planes yet to be delivered from previous orders which will be delivered end of this decade.
The latest order for another 500 on top of them “will provide a further steady stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035,” stated the report citing the airline.
The “historic” purchase agreement was signed by an IndiGo team led by Co-founder and Managing Director Rahul Bhatia along with Airbus brass led by CEO Guillaume Faury at the ongoing aviation expo.
The multibillion-dollar deal eclipses Air India’s recent order for 470 aircraft, including 70 twin aisles, worth $70 billion in terms of number of planes.
The French aerospace giant Airbus said the deal sets “the record for the biggest single purchase agreement in the history of commercial aviation,” and brings the total number of Airbus (EADSY) planes IndiGo has ordered to 1,330.
Founded in 2006, IndiGo is India’s top airline by market share, according to its website. It flew 86 million customers in the last financial year. This massive order for A320neo-family jets follows months of negotiations. Industry sources said in advance of the Le Bourget event that a 500-plane deal was close.
The no-frills carrier currently operates over 300 aircraft and has previous orders totaling 480 aircraft, which are to be delivered by 2030.
IndiGo has big plans to further expand its network and capacity within India and internationally. With its fleet of over 300 planes, the airline currently operates over 1,800 daily flights, connecting 78 domestic airports and a few overseas destinations as well. The carrier has the largest fleet among all Indian airlines and has a domestic market share (by passengers ferried) of over 60 per cent.
With this additional firm order of 500 aircraft, the airline expects to take delivery of close to thousand aircraft over the next 12 years. This IndiGo order book comprises a mix of A320neo, A321neo and A321XLR aircraft., reported The Indian Express.
The airline is looking to double its fleet size by the end of the decade and the 480 planes that are to be delivered by 2030 will be used to that end.
“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,” IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers told a news conference.
Some of those aircraft will be used to replace older planes while the others will be used for growing the fleet, he stated, adding that the aircraft will be delivered between 2030 and 2035.
