Shares of Interglobe Aviation, the parent company of Indigo and India’s largest airline operator, opened at a fresh 52-week high of ₹ 2490.00 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday, after the company placed a huge order for 500 Airbus A320 Family Aircraft.
Earlier this year, Tata-owned Air India struck a massive deal to add a total of 470 planes from Airbus and Boeing into their fleet, putting the carrier on a strong footing as it races to tap into the surging demand for affordable air travel. Indigo’s order eclipses Air India’s order and aims to further boost its leadership in India and fuel expansion to international destinations,
The deal is estimated to be at $ 50 billion, according to the most recently published Airbus list prices. The company’s most expensive aeroplane was the A380 which cost around $445.6 million, while the most economical was the A318, which cost $ 77 million. However, these are indicative prices and tend to be substantially reduced as part of purchase negotiations.
The purchase agreement was signed on June 19th at the Paris Air Show 2023 in the presence of 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.
According to a press release, this order will provide Indigo a steady stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035. The carrier operates over 300 aircraft and has 480 aircraft on backorder that are expected to arrive by the end of this decade. The latest order of 500 planes is in addition to the previous orders.
Indigo’s order book has almost 1000 aircraft that are yet to be delivered and it includes a mix of A320NEO, A321NEO and A321XLR aircraft. The fuel-efficient A320NEO Family aircraft will allow IndiGo to maintain its strong focus on reducing operating costs and delivering fuel efficiency while maintaining high standards of reliability. Its young fleet will help the carrier to realize its sustainability ambitions, building on the already realized CO2 reduction of 21% between FY16 and FY23.
Indigo is among the fastest-growing low-cost carriers around the globe. It offers fares that are affordable, flights that are on time and provide a courteous and hassle-free travel experience across its unparalleled network. The company operates over 1,800 flights per day and connects 78 domestic destinations and will soon further grow its international footprint to 32 international destinations.
Written By Simran Bafna
