NEW DELHI: “Ahmedabad to Amsterdam. Surat to Seoul. Patna to Paris.” A day after ordering 30 wide body Airbus A350s, with an option to order 70 more, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers used these rhyming city pairs to give a glimpse of how founder Rahul Bhatia plans the airline ’s network to potentially evolve over the next few years.
“…these new wide body aircraft will really be the next step in our ambition to become a global aviation player. We can build on our hubs in India, nonstop connect our Indian strongholds in the metros to destinations all over the globe. But also connecting and supporting the nation by building India into an aviation hub and power house,” Elbers said in a mail to employees Friday.
India’s largest airline by domestic market share (at over 60%), IndiGo flew over 10 crore passengers last year and it currently operates 350 aircraft. It has over 1,000 single aisle A320 family planes still on order to be delivered till mid 2030s. With an order for up to 100 A350s, it will have its own wide bodies operating to far flung corners of the planet from India starting 2027.
“…A new wonderful chapter in the beautiful IndiGo journey and story is now in the making. The journey towards 2030 with the objective to double in size by the end of this decade will now be further cemented by planes and a subsequent network that will allow us even more to enable our purpose of ‘giving wings to nation, by connecting people and aspirations’…. We have a very solid foundation in the Indian market and from there we are reaching further and further. This is India’s time and IndiGo’s too! We have expanded our international network recently already quite significantly. The (Airbus A321) XLR aircraft will further expand today’s range to parts of Europe and Asia,” Elbers said.
IndiGo dipped its toe into the wide body market when it recently wet leased (hired with operating crew) two B777s from Turkish Airlines to operate a daily between Delhi/Mumbai and Istanbul. After gaining that experience, it has eventually ordered its own wide bodies whose delivery will start in 2027 — when IndiGo will be turning 21. The option to order 70 more A350s will be placed “at its discretion, for possible future needs under certain conditions,” the airline says.
“…these new wide body aircraft will really be the next step in our ambition to become a global aviation player. We can build on our hubs in India, nonstop connect our Indian strongholds in the metros to destinations all over the globe. But also connecting and supporting the nation by building India into an aviation hub and power house,” Elbers said in a mail to employees Friday.
India’s largest airline by domestic market share (at over 60%), IndiGo flew over 10 crore passengers last year and it currently operates 350 aircraft. It has over 1,000 single aisle A320 family planes still on order to be delivered till mid 2030s. With an order for up to 100 A350s, it will have its own wide bodies operating to far flung corners of the planet from India starting 2027.
“…A new wonderful chapter in the beautiful IndiGo journey and story is now in the making. The journey towards 2030 with the objective to double in size by the end of this decade will now be further cemented by planes and a subsequent network that will allow us even more to enable our purpose of ‘giving wings to nation, by connecting people and aspirations’…. We have a very solid foundation in the Indian market and from there we are reaching further and further. This is India’s time and IndiGo’s too! We have expanded our international network recently already quite significantly. The (Airbus A321) XLR aircraft will further expand today’s range to parts of Europe and Asia,” Elbers said.
IndiGo dipped its toe into the wide body market when it recently wet leased (hired with operating crew) two B777s from Turkish Airlines to operate a daily between Delhi/Mumbai and Istanbul. After gaining that experience, it has eventually ordered its own wide bodies whose delivery will start in 2027 — when IndiGo will be turning 21. The option to order 70 more A350s will be placed “at its discretion, for possible future needs under certain conditions,” the airline says.
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