Indian airline IndiGo makes record purchase of 500 Airbus aircraft

Indian airline IndiGo has defined a path towards its future with a landmark order of 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, the largest single aircraft purchase ever made by any airline with Airbus.

This will ensure a steady stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035, strengthening IndiGo’s order-book to almost 1,000 aircraft to be delivered in the coming years. The engine selection and the exact mix of A320 and A321 aircraft will be determined in due time.

IndiGo, currently operating over 300 aircraft with pending orders of 480 more, is securing its future growth through this massive order. This new purchase agreement was signed on June 19th at the Paris Air Show 2023, attended by V. Sumantran, Chairman of the Board of IndiGo, Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, and Christian Scherer, Airbus’ Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International.

Pieter Elbers said: “It is difficult to overstate the significance of IndiGo’s new historic order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. An order book now of almost 1,000 aircraft well into the next decade, enables IndiGo to fulfill its mission to continue to boost economic growth, social cohesion and mobility in India.

“At IndiGo, we take pride in being India’s preferred airline for connectivity in and with India; and by doing so, being one of the leading airlines in the world. This order strongly reaffirms IndiGo’s belief in the growth of India, in the A320 Family and in our strategic partnership with Airbus.”

IndiGo sets new record with largest-ever single purchase of 500 Airbus aircraft. Photo courtesy of Magentic Manifestations/Wikimedia Commons.

The new order is not just a milestone for IndiGo, but it further cements its strategic relationship with Airbus, which has seen the airline order a total of 1,330 aircraft since 2006. This purchase aligns with the airline’s ambition to maintain a young and fuel-efficient fleet, continuing its strong focus on lowering operating costs and delivering fuel efficiency, while building on the already realized CO2 reduction of 21% between FY16 and FY23.

As one of the fastest-growing airlines globally, IndiGo is gearing up to welcome 100 million customers onboard this year, underlining its substantial contribution to India’s aviation sector.

As the Indian economy is poised to become the world’s 3rd largest by the end of this decade, IndiGo’s current fleet and the nearly 1,000 aircraft still to be delivered will play a significant role in India’s burgeoning aviation scene, supporting Prime Minister Modi’s mission for India to establish itself on the world stage of aviation leadership by 2030.