Indian budget carrier IndiGo has placed a firm order for 500 A320 family aircraft in what Airbus dubbed “the biggest single purchase agreement in the history of commercial aviation.”
The deal extends the New Delhi-headquartered airline’s total commitment with the Toulouse-based aerospace giant to 1,330 aircraft, making it the world’s biggest A320 family customer.
Speaking at Le Bourget, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers commented: “It is difficult to overstate the significance of IndiGo’s new historic order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. An order book now of almost 1000 aircraft well into the next decade, enables IndiGo to fulfil its mission to continue to boost economic growth, social cohesion, and mobility in India. At IndiGo, we take pride in being India’s preferred airline for connectivity in and with India; and by doing so, being one of the leading airlines in the world. This order strongly reaffirms IndiGo’s belief in the growth of India, in the A320 Family and in our strategic partnership with Airbus.”
Christian Scherer, Airbus’ CCO and head of international added: “This landmark order marks a new chapter in Airbus and IndiGo’s relationship that is democratising affordable air travel for millions of people in the world’s fastest growing aviation market. It is also a resounding endorsement of the A320 Family’s best-in-class operating economics that have been powering IndiGo’s growth for almost two decades. We cherish our long-standing relationship with IndiGo and are proud of our success together. We look forward to contributing to the growth of India’s air connectivity in its domestic network and into international markets through the expansion of this formidable partnership.”
IndiGo is among the faster growing carriers in the world and is already one of the largest A320 operators with 264 examples in its fleet (including the A320ceo and neo, A321neo and two A321 freighters). The order in Paris follows similar deals in 2005 (100 aircraft), 2011 (180), 2015 (250 and 2019 (300).
