IndiGo orders 30 aircraft at $9.5 billion to fly long haul

NEW DELHI: Come 2027 and IndiGo will mount nonstop flights by using its own wide body aircraft between India and far flung corners of the world. The Rahul Bhatia-founded mega budget carrier Thursday said it “has agreed” to place a firm order for 30 twin aisle Airbus A350-900 valued at over $9.5 billion at list price, along with an option for 70 more of these big birds.
With Tata Group‘s Air India already operating twin aisles (Vistara merges into AI this year), Indian globetrotters will be spoilt for choice with two desi airlines – AI and IndiGo – operating medium to ultra long-haul routes on twin aisles, along with the option of taking numerous foreign carriers. IndiGo has also “agreed to order” 60 Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines for its 30 A350s.

The B787 Dreamliner was considered by IndiGo but the unending nightmares at Boeing made it stick to its trusted Airbus where it already has over 1,000 A320 family single aisles on order and is the largest operator of this best-seller globally. While Airbus dominates India’s single aisle market, troubled Boeing is no longer the sole wide body with Indian airlines as its European competitor has started getting orders for big birds too since last year, starting with AI.
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 A350-900 will be placed “at its discretion, for possible future needs under certain conditions,” the airline says.
Currently, IndiGo operates over 350 aircraft and saw over 10 crore passengers in 2023. Being the domestic market leader with over 60% market share, IndiGo has the feed to fill up wide bodies to and from its hubs.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said: “(Thursday’s) historic moment marks a new chapter for IndiGo and will further shape the future of the airline and for Indian aviation at the same time…. fleet of 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft will allow IndiGo to embark on its next phase of becoming one of the leading global aviation players…”
Next year IndiGo will start getting the single aisle A321XLRs (extra long range) that have a range of almost 8,500 km and can fly upto western Europe (not UK) from India on one side and Seoul on the other.