Low-cost airline IndiGo, founded in India, plans to acquire up to 500 aircraft from Airbus.
According to Reuters, IndiGo is believed close to concluding an arrangement with the manufacturer. Although the type of aircraft IndiGo is considering ordering was not specified, it would all come from the A320neo family, including the A321XLR.
Three Boeing 777-300ERs are currently being wet-leased by IndiGo from Turkish Airlines. According to information from ch-aviation.com, one of the planes was recently rearranged to accommodate 531 passengers, 524 of whom will travel in Economy Class.
Comparatively, Emirates’ two-class Airbus A380s can accommodate 557 passengers in Economy Class and 58 passengers in Business Class.
The 500-strong aircraft order would overshadow Air India’s recent shopping spree in February 2023. Air India is still finalizing details, and neither Airbus nor Boeing has listed the substantial number of aircraft in their backlogs, so it appears that these are not solid orders.
Airbus Orders & Deliveries figures show that as of April 31, 2023, IndiGo has placed orders for 730 A320neo and A321neo aircraft, with 167 and 81, respectively, already having been delivered by the manufacturer.
