IndiGo Looks At 150 Aircraft Order, Possibly A320s And A330s

Airframers/Suppliers

Aviation Daily May 05 , 2010 , p. 12
Neelam Mathews

India's largest budget airline, IndiGo, has been given government approval to purchase 150 aircraft, which it says it will do between 2015 and 2025.

The aircraft order could be made official at the Farnborough International Air Show July 19-25. The order will be a mix of firm orders and options, depending on the negotiations done with the OEM, which will be an all-Airbus order, officials tell The DAILY, to achieve fleet commonality.

While the order is presently expected to be A320s, some analysts have speculated that with Indigo being allowed to fly internationally starting in 2011, it may switch some orders to the A330.

Indigo has a sale and lease-back strategy, and as it accepts new aircraft, it likely will return older ones, says Kapil Kaul, head of India and the Middle East for Sydney-based think-tank Center for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Indigo’s lease this time around is expected to be seven years versus the previous five.

There is some marketing hype in this as the company is looking at an IPO, an airline official not willing to be identified, said. “Everybody is getting into big names and big game. Airlines need to keep costs under check. Those that can shout louder are winners,” says a source.

Indigo created a stir when it ordered 100 A320s in 2005, deliveries for which will run till 2015. With the turnaround in the economy this year, the airline is looking at procuring 10 instead of six aircraft.