Airbus just announced that IndiGo, a low-cost airline from India, has placed a firm order for 300 A320neo series aircraft including A320neo, A321neo, and A321XLR.
The new order brings the total number of A320 series aircraft that the airline has on order to 730.
IndiGo Set to Remain the Largest A320neo Operator
IndiGo expressed interest in the improved A320 for the first time back in early 2011, before placing a firm order for 150 airframes at the Paris Air Show later that year.
It received the first A320neo in 2016, and is currently the largest operator of the aircraft family. With this new order, it is set to remain the aircraft family’s largest operator for the foreseeable future. In fact, IndiGo’s aircraft make up about 10% of all the A320neo series aircraft built and on order.
Upon signing the order, Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer of IndiGo, said:
This order is an important milestone, as it reiterates our mission of strengthening air connectivity in India, which will in turn boost economic growth and mobility. India is expected to continue with its strong aviation growth and we are well on our way to build the world’s best air transportation system, to serve more customers and deliver on our promise of providing low fares and a courteous, hassle free experience to them.
The exact breakdown of the new order is not yet known. However, it is likely that more than half of the 300 aircraft will be A320neos, and the vast majority of the remaining airframes will be A321neos with a few A321XLRs sprinkled in between.
With the new aircraft, IndiGo will be able to continue its expansion both within India as well as on its international routes.
One interesting thing to note here is that IndiGo had plans to start flights between Delhi and London this year. Those flights were axed, though, as the aircraft it currently operates couldn’t make the flight without doing a technical stop.
With its upcoming A321XLRs, it could operate those flights non-stop.
As such, chances are that one of the first routes that IndiGo will use the A321XLRs on will, in fact, be flights between Delhi and London. Routes from Delhi to other European countries, Japan, and parts of Africa are well within the aircraft’s range as well.
The 300 newly ordered aircraft will be joining – and partly replacing – IndoGo’s current fleet comprising of 128 A320ceos, 90 A320neos, 7 A321neos, and 22 ATR 72s.
Summary
With 300 aircraft being a considerable part of Airbus’ 6,650 strong A320neo family order book, this is big news for the manufacturer. On the other end of the deal, it is a strong commitment to further growth from IndiGo.
It will certainly be interesting to see how IndiGo’s short- and medium-haul network develops once its fleet includes a few hundred A320neos and A321neos.
However, what I am more curious about are the company’s plans with the A321XLR. It will be interesting to see how many of the type IndiGo plans to receive and what routes other than, perhaps, London, it will deploy it on.
With the A321XLR having enough range to reach large parts of Europe and Africa as well as Japan among other regions out of Delhi and other Indian cities, the options are limitless.
