FIRST ATR 72-600 FOR INDIGO AIRLINES

Low-cost carrier IndiGo has taken delivery of the first of its 50 ATR 72-600 against an order that could run into $1.3 billion at list prices. The airline has plans to use these ATR aircraft to operate to small airports under the Regional Connectivity Scheme, UDAN. The airline now expects to add seven more ATR 72-600 aircraft by March 2018 to meet the growing demand on its existing routes as also further boost its operations under regional aviation and substantially expand its footprint. Last month, IndiGo had said that it plans to further strengthen its regional operations with over 90 new flight connections that include routes to and from Tirupati, Rajahmundry, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Madurai and Nagpur.

ATR Chief Executive Officer, Christian Scherer said, “IndiGo’s choice highlights the airline’s commitment to offering passengers only the very best at the lowest cost possible. India’s rapidly expanding domestic market represented close to 100 million passengers last year and has been steadily growing by more than 20 percent annually. As the country is expected to become the world’s third largest market by 2020, we are proud of playing a key role in such an expansion of the air connectivity.” Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo said,“We are excited at the opportunity of once again being able to redefine air travel in India by bringing the reliability and efficiency of IndiGo’s operations to towns and regions in our country which so far have been devoid of reliable air service or have been subject to exorbitant air fares”.