Spreading wings to fly above the rest

It may perhaps not get bigger than this. India’s young low-cost carrier IndiGo created a sensation in the international airline market on January 12 when it announced signing of the biggest ever single order of 180 aircraft valued at a whopping $15 billion (Rs 67,800 crore) with European plane maker Airbus.
As per the MoU signed with the Toulouse-based aircraft manufacturer, 30 of the 180 planes will be the largest selling A320s while the rest 150 will be the new A320neo (new engine option) which are more fuel-efficient machines. The delivery will start from 2016 and go on till 2025.
The order for 180 planes (the engines are yet to be decided) is no doubt huge but then, IndiGo is no stranger to dramatic announcements. When the Indian aviation market was just opening up about five years ago, InterGlobe, stunned the airline world by inking MoU for 100 Airbus A320 planes. Of those 100, IndiGo currently has a fleet of 34 Airbus A320s, flying to 24 destinations through 221 daily flights. The latest announcement means that 241 aircraft will be delivered to IndiGo by Airbus between now and 2025.
Good times are coming the IndiGo way in droves. Or so it seems. Recently released civil aviation ministry figures revealed that the budget carrier has emerged a joint second in terms of the Indian domestic market share. This was followed a day later by the government giving it permission to fly abroad after it completed the mandatory five years of domestic operations.
Interestingly, the twin orders of 100 and 180 planes is more than half of the 420 aircraft currently in service with all Indian carriers, including Air India, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, SpiceJet , IndiGo and GoAir, put together. The fleet size of IndiGo is set to reach 50 in a year’s time while its 100th will reach India by 2015.
24/01/11 B S Arun/Deccan Herald

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Indigo Airlines Jan 2011