On the sidelines of the press conference on Wednesday, IndiGo’s chief executive officer (CEO) Pieter Elbers said the airline could receive delivery of the Airbus A321-XLR aircraft in the current financial year. IndiGo has more than 60 orders of the A321-XLR from Airbus. The aircraft will enable flying on longer routes from India to destinations located in Europe and central Asia, something the airline was constrained in doing at the moment.
“We are discussing with Airbus the exact date and timing of the delivery of XLRs. We are positive that we will get them in this financial year. For us to have the XLR is an exciting moment. We are flying from Mumbai to Nairobi, but we cannot fly from Delhi to Nairobi in terms of operational capabilities. We can fly from Delhi to Nairobi with the XLR, which will open up a whole range of network opportunities,” Elbers said in response to a question on the same.
He also said Indigo would continue with aircraft leasing, such as for its widebody Boeing 777 aircraft, that it uses on select international routes, as well as for some narrow-body aircraft, noting that such leases were necessary to tide over global supply chain issues.