Summary
- IndiGo has signed a lease agreement for 10 Airbus A320neo planes to expand its fleet and meet its ambitious expansion plans.
- All 10 planes will be inducted into IndiGo's fleet in 2023.
- The new planes will help IndiGo enhance its domestic and international reach, as the carrier prepares for the upcoming festival and holiday season.
IndiGo’s appetite for more aircraft and, consequently, more flights is constantly increasing. The airline, which has close to a thousand planes on order, has signed a lease agreement for 10 Airbus narrowbody planes as it doubles down on its domestic network and rapidly expands to foreign shores.
IndiGo to lease 10 A320neos
India’s largest airline, IndiGo has made a finance lease transaction involving 10 Airbus A320neo aircraft with BOC Aviation Limited. All 10 aircraft will be delivered in 2023 and powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines. Steven Townend, Deputy Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, BOC Aviation, commented,
“We are delighted to be embarking on another transaction with our long-time customer IndiGo, to enable the airline to expand its fleet with the latest technology aircraft. This showcases our ability to deploy alternative financing structures, to continue our long-term sustainable growth.”
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Riyaz Peer Mohamed, Chief Aircraft Acquisition and Financing Officer, IndiGo, said that the extended collaboration with BOC Aviation is part of the carrier’s expansion strategy across domestic and international markets.
Indeed, the development comes just months before the busy festival and holiday season in India, starting in October. IndiGo has several aircraft grounded due to the ongoing issues with Pratt & Whitney engines and needs to build capacity for its ambitious expansion plans.
Capacity enhancement
Not only is IndiGo the largest airline in India, but it also became the first in the country’s history to have more than 300 aircraft in its fleet earlier this year. The budget carrier also placed the largest aircraft order in history in June at the Paris Air Show for 500 Airbus A320neo family aircraft. This brought its total number of aircraft on order to nearly 1,000.
Recent reports also suggest that IndiGo may finally take the plunge and place its first-ever widebody airplane order of 25 Boeing 787 aircraft. The airline is said to be in talks with Boeing regarding its 787 family of jets, but Airbus isn't out of the picture yet - its line of A330neo aircraft is reportedly under consideration too.
IndiGo is getting hands-on experience currently by wet leasing two Boeing 777 aircraft, which it uses exclusively for flights to Istanbul from Delhi and Mumbai. Many think this has been done mainly to get a taste of what it’s like to operate a widebody aircraft should IndiGo decide to have bigger planes of its own in the future.
Expanding reach
Of course, all the new planes coming IndiGo’s way are expected to be very busy, judging from the rapid network expansion of the carrier. IndiGo has started or announced several international flights lately to the Middle East, Southeast and Central Asia, and even Africa.
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Its domestic capacity has also peaked this year, and the carrier celebrated its 17th anniversary recently by reaching 1,900 flights in a single day. With the new planes on their way, IndiGo’s reach will only get much larger over the next few months.
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