Indigo places order for 300 Airbus jets

NEW DELHI: Interglobe Aviation Ltd, the operator of India’s largest airline, said on Tuesday it has placed an order for 300 Airbus A320neo family aircraft worth more than $30 billion at list prices.

This is Airbus’s largest aircraft order from a single airline and will take Indigo’s total number of narrow-body A320neo family aircraft orders to 730, the Indian company said. Indigo’s latest order includes the new A321XLR long-range planes that can travel as far as 4,700 nautical miles (nm), or 8,700km, without refuelling.

The long-range, fuel-efficient planes will boost Indigo’s plans to expand its international network and help it serve destinations beyond Asia. The A321XLR, which has the longest range for a single-aisle aircraft, will be delivered to customers only after 2023.

“The A321XLR is the next evolutionary step from the A321LR, which responds to market needs for even more range and payload, creating more value for the airlines,” Indigo said. “The aircraft will deliver an unprecedented extra long range of up to 4,700nm, with 30% lower fuel burn per seat compared with previous generation competitor jets.”

Indigo currently flies to foreign destinations such as Myanmar, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, China, Kuwait, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

“The fuel-efficient A320neo family aircraft will allow Indigo to maintain its strong focus on lowering operating costs and delivering fuel efficiency with high standards of reliability,” said Riyaz Peermohamed, chief aircraft acquisition and financing officer of Indigo.

The firm order will also allow Indigo to replace its older

A320ceo fleet by 2022. As of 30 September, the Gurugrambased airline had 245 aircraft in its fleet, consisting of 89 A320neo planes, 129 A320ceo planes, six A321neo planes and 21 ATR aircraft. It has since added an A321neo plane to its fleet.

The airline will choose the engine manufacturer for this order later. A320neo family planes come with two engine choices—pratt and Whitney and the LEAP engine of CFM International, a joint venture of GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines.

“The order is an important milestone as it reiterates our mission of strengthening air connectivity in India, which will in turn boost economic growth and mobility,” said Indigo’s chief executive officer, Ronojoy Dutta.