IndiGo orders 30 Airbus A350-900 wide-body aircraft for long haul flights
Upstox
2 min read • Updated: April 26, 2024, 9:58 AM
Summary
IndiGo said that delivery of A350-900 aircraft, which will be powered by Rolls Royce's Trent XWB engine, is expected to commence from 2027. The configuration of these aircraft will be determined at a later stage.
Domestic airline IndiGo has placed an order for 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft and the option to buy 70 more such plans, foraying into the wide-body aircraft segment, the company said in a regulatory filing.
IndiGo, which commenced operations in 2006, has a fleet of more than 350 narrow-body planes and is expanding its services abroad. Besides, the airline is also leasing two wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft from Turkish Airlines to run flights between Delhi and Mumbai to Istanbul.
The airline, which has over 60% domestic market share, plans to double in size by 2030 with new domestic and international routes and destinations as it pursues soaring global ambitions to match India's economic growth potential.
The delivery of A350-900 aircraft, which will be powered by Rolls Royce's Trent XWB engine, is expected to commence from 2027. The configuration of these aircraft will be determined at a later stage.
Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, said, "Today’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. For IndiGo, after successfully pioneering the Indian skies with an unprecedented journey, its fleet of 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft will allow IndiGo to embark on its next phase of becoming one of the leading global aviation players".
The pricing of the A350-900 aircraft was not available as Airbus discontinued publishing the list price of its planes.
At present, Air India is the only Indian carrier operating the A350. Among the domestic airlines, Air India and Vistara currently have wide-body aircraft in their fleets, while low-cost carrier SpiceJet has leased some wide-body planes.
IndiGo's latest order also comes when efforts are on to make India a global aviation hub.
The outstanding order book of A320 family aircraft stands at almost 1,000 which are yet to be delivered well into the next decade. The order book comprises a mix of A320 Neo, A321 Neo and A321 XLR aircraft.
IndiGo announced that it will be able to connect to the world from various Indian metros with its fleet of A350 planes.
Shares of Indigo were trading at ₹3,838.40, up 0.68%, on the NSE at 9:52 am. The stock opened at ₹3,858 on Friday.
With PTI inputs