On the first day of the Paris Airshow, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus announced the largest aircraft order in history: an order for 500 narrowbody jets from Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo.
As India’s two largest airlines prepare for a dramatic increase in demand for regional travel, the multibillion-dollar contract surpasses Air India’s preliminary purchase of 470 jets earlier this year as the largest ever by a number of aircraft.
“There is more to come; this is just the beginning. The best time to place this purchase is now, according to IndiGo Chief Executive Pieter Elbers, given the expansion of India and the Indian aviation business.
Deliveries of the aircraft will take place between 2030 and 2035.
Even while manufacturers are finding it difficult to fulfill output targets, Indian carriers’ efforts to keep up with the world’s fastest-growing aviation market—which serves the largest population—have broken previous records in the sector.
According to a June 1 research by Barclays, Indian carriers now have the second-largest order book, with over 6% of the industry’s backlog, behind only the United States.
However, some analysts are worried that airlines might be acquiring too many jets to compete for the same passengers.
Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, stated after the IndiGo agreement was signed that it was too soon to consider producing more narrowbody aircraft than the anticipated 75 per month.
It was widely anticipated that IndiGo, which holds close to 60% of the local Indian market, will continue to purchase single-aisle aircraft from Airbus in order to further benefit from economies of scale.
It is still in talks with rival Boeing and Airbus separately for 25 widebody aircraft, which may either be Airbus A330neos or Boeing 787s, according to sources.
