An Indigo Airways aircraft prepares to land at Mumbai airport. Indigo has signed an agreement to buy 180 Airbus a320 aircraft, the European plane maker said, in a record sale worth $16.4 billion. — AFP
Indian budget airline IndiGo has agreed to buy 250 A320 planes from Airbus, a purchase that could be worth nearly $26 billion and rank as the largest single order of jets from the European planemaker.
The airline will start taking delivery of the planes from 2018 and has secured rights to buy a further 100 A320-family aircraft, Aditya Ghosh, Indigo’s President, told Reuters after the announcement the carrier had signed a memorandum of understanding to buy the jets.
“We believe India is a highly underpenetrated market,” he said. “Some of these (new planes) will go to replacement. It’s difficult to say how many at the moment, but a lot will be for growth.”
Reuters reported on Tuesday that IndiGo was close to placing a large order worth billions of dollars for a variety of aircraft as it looks to expand.
The provisional deal extends Airbus’ lead over Boeing Co in the Indian market and could, if confirmed in the coming months, close a worldwide deficit in orders versus its US rival during the first nine months of the year.
A deal for the planes would be worth $25.7 billion at list prices, although airlines typically get a discount.
IndiGo, which sources have said is planning to list on the Indian stock exchange next year, has a fleet of 83 Airbus A320s and has ordered or taken delivery of another 280 Airbus aircraft — including 160 of the upgraded and re-engined A320neo model that will begin arriving next year. It was one of the first customers for the A320neo.
While rivals such as SpiceJet are cutting the size of their fleet to combat losses, IndiGo is expanding into a market where passenger numbers are expected to grow by more than 75 per cent in the next six years to exceed 200 million as more Indians fly for the first time.
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