India’s largest carrier IndiGo is open to making changes to its mammoth pending order of 480 aircraft, including going for the larger and more efficient A321, even as Airbus has said it plans to accelerate aircraft production over the next two years.
Airbus, the largest aircraft maker, said recently that each of its nine production sites in the world will become capable of producing the A321 after the company is through with its current cycle of investment plans.
Talking to FE, Pieter Elbers, CEO, IndiGo said, “We have a mix of A320 and A321 and we have flexibility in making some changes going forward. Covid-19 has taught us that flexibility is important.”
The A321 is a longer aircraft than the A320, allowing it to accommodate more passengers. Depending on the configuration, the A321 can have a maximum seating capacity of 244 compared to 180 in A320 aircraft.
“We have flexibility in lease terms, in even further detailing or making up for the size mixture of A320 and A321. Of course, there is always a lead time for that, but we have that flexibility going forward. We should keep in mind that some airports are suitable for A320 and some for A321,” Elbers added.
The A320 is the most popular aircraft type in India. Three in every five aircraft in IndiGo’s 303-strong fleet are A320s, while 81 are A321. The rest are ATRs. IndiGo’s average fleet age is 3.5 years, making it one of the youngest in the world for a company with more than 300 aircraft in its fleet.
“We see in the market today the need to transition to new technologies. All airlines are under pressure to reduce cost, reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions. We will see airlines placing orders for the next decade and it has already started given that demand is stronger than supply,” Guillaume Faury, CEO, Airbus said in a recent analyst/press meet.
All airlines in India, including IndiGo, are facing a capacity crunch, with demand far outpacing supply. Despite the passenger load factors staying north of 85%, airlines are unable to add new capacity at the same pace as new aircraft supply.
With the hope of easing supply chain issues, Airbus said it is ramping up production to 65 aircraft a month by the end of 2024 and to 75 by the end of 2026 from 55 in 2022. The company has an order backlog of 7,239 aircraft at the end of 2022, including 6,093 of the A320 family.