Indian low-cost airline IndiGo will introduce wide-body aircraft to its fleet for the first time with an order of 30 Airbus A350-900 planes, and an option for up to 70 more aircraft as it continues to expand its network.
The airline, the largest in India, has been adding a steady stream of aircraft to its fleet in recent years as it seeks to keep up with the country’s growing aviation market, and now has an order book of around 1,000 aircraft with Airbus.
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Dutch CEO Pieter Elbers 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.”
Alongside further strengthening the relationship between IndiGo and Airbus, the order will also see the airline utilise Rolls Royce engines for the first time, with the incoming A350s to be powered by Trent XWB engines.
While IndiGo has not specified the routes that the A350-900s are to be used on, the aircraft will begin arriving in 2027 and the airline stated that the new fleet would allow it to connect Indian metros “to the world”, pointing towards use of the wide-body planes for international connections.
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By GlobalDataLaunched in 2006, IndiGo has become one of the biggest airlines in the world by passengers carried, with 100 million boarding its flights in 2023, and has already broken records for investments into its currently 350-strong fleet.
Notably, last year, the airline placed an order for 500 A320 aircraft during the Paris Air Show, the largest single purchase in commercial aviation history.
