Air India, IndiGo resume pursuit of new large aircraft orders
The race for aircraft orders between India’s two largest airlines continues despite the huge deals announced in 2023.
IndiGo, the country’s largest carrier, confirmed on Sunday that it will exercise the option to buy 30 Airbus A350-900s, doubling its order for widebodies.
The company has just signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic to integrate its flights on a global scale.
The plan also foresees synergies in maintenance, training, systems and others.
Widebodies and narrowbodies in the pipeline
IndiGo’s rival Air India is also on the move, with a major announcement of widebodies and narrowbodies to be announced, according to Reuters.
The former state-owned carrier, which was acquired by the Tata Group, is reportedly close to a new deal for the 777X with Boeing.
But that’s not all. Air India is aiming to secure orders for about 200 narrowbodies and is in talks with Airbus and Boeing.
In 2023, the company placed a record order for 470 aircraft from the two manufacturers and last year added 100 Airbus jets to its backlog.
The race to meet the growing demand in the Indian aviation market comes as Boeing and Airbus struggle to ramp up production amid supply chain issues.
Assembly line slots are only available for the next decade on models such as the A320neo and 737 MAX, but airlines and lessors have been staking out their positions, fearful of missing the window to renew their fleets.
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Ricardo Meier
Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
