In a bid to dominate global skies, India’s IndiGo airline is all set to purchase 500 narrow-body A320 jets from Airbus.
The latest development is nothing short of a bonanza for the European planemaker, which earlier in the year had sealed another record deal with Air India.
According to media reports, Airbus is now close to sealing this massive deal with the Indian low-cost carrier.
If the deal goes through, it will be the biggest aviation deal in recent history, even dwarfing the 250-aircraft deal struck with the Tata-owned Air India.
The deal could be valued at $50 billion. But would typically be worth less than half this after widespread airline industry discounts for bulk deals, according to aircraft analysts.
The European planemaker is also in talks to sell 25 A330neo to Indigo, reports added.
IndiGo’s commercial ties with Airbus go a long way back in history. IndiGo, which has a 56 percent market share in the Indian aviation sector, has been one of the biggest customers of Airbus. The Indian low-cost airline has ordered 830 Airbus a320-family jets so far, media reports said.
The expansion drive by IndiGo comes amid a strong rebound in travel post-covid, with passenger numbers surging despite high ticket rates.
India is the world’s third-largest aviation market. IndiGo aims to take advantage of that by doubling its capacity by the end of the decade and expanding its network in international markets.
As part of its international expansion, the airline already has a codeshare partnership with seven carriers including Turkish Airlines, American Airlines and KLM.
The alliance with Turkish Airlines has seen Indigo make a major push into Europe, a favourite holiday destination among Indians, with the budget carrier now offering flights to 33 European airports.
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