IndiGo, one of the world’s fastest growing low-cost carriers has placed a firm order for 500 A320 Family aircraft, setting the record for the biggest single purchase agreement in the history of commercial aviation.
The deal was announced at the Paris Air Show and takes the total number of Airbus aircraft on order by IndiGo to 1,330 – making it the world’s biggest A320 Family customer.
“It is difficult to overstate the significance of IndiGo’s new historic order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft,” Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo.
“An order book now of almost 1000 aircraft well into the next decade, enables IndiGo to fulfil its mission to continue to boost economic growth, social cohesion and mobility in India.
“This order strongly reaffirms IndiGo’s belief in the growth of India, in the A320 Family and in our strategic partnership with Airbus.”
This year IndiGo expects to welcome 100 million customers on board its fleet as the Indian economy is expected to grow further from being the world’s 5th largest today to being the 3rd largest before the end of this decade.
Aviation is at the core of that expansion.
“We cherish our long-standing relationship with IndiGo and are proud of our success together,” said Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International at Airbus.
“We look forward to contributing to the growth of India’s air connectivity in its domestic network and into international markets through the expansion of this formidable partnership”
Since its first A320neo aircraft was delivered in March 2016, IndiGo’s fleet of A320neo Family has grown into one of the world’s largest with 264 aircraft in operation (162 A320neo, 79 A321neo, 21 A320ceo and 2 A321 freighters. IndiGo placed its first order with Airbus in 2005 (100 A320 Family) and again in 2011 (180 A320 Family including the NEO), in 2014 (250neo Family), and in 2019 (300 A320neo Family) taking its previous total order book to 830 A320 Family aircraft.
The A320neo has been a key aircraft in making air travel affordable in India. It’s also a big blow to Boeing in the single-aisle market but the US manufacturer apparently remains in the race to supply widebody jets to IndiGo.