India’s largest airline IndiGo is exploring buying widebody aircraft, Bloomberg said in its report citing sources. With this purchase, IndiGo stands to gain in international radius and up its competition game with Tata Group-owned Air India.
IndiGo weighs options
As per the Bloomberg report, the airline is considering multiple options with a potential order for around 30 Airbus SE A350s appearing as the frontrunner. A formal decision could be announced by the airline in the coming weeks. However, the sources have cautioned that IndiGo could still reverse its decision regarding the timing and the number of planes.
The carrier has been dabbling with the idea of introducing long-haul services and capitalise on the increasing number of affluent Indians traveling to destinations like the UK and Europe. Presently, the budget airline operates two Boeing Co. 777s leased from Turkish Airlines for flights to Istanbul, while predominantly relying on Airbus single-aisle jets for its fleet.
Having placed an unprecedented order for 500 A320neo family aircraft last year, IndiGo has become one of Airbus’s largest customers. As a result, the airline now faces a backlog of approximately 1,000 aircraft.
Both IndiGo and Airbus declined to provide comments on the matter.