At the opening of the Paris Air Show, Airbus of Europe entered into a historic deal to sell 500 narrow-body aircraft to India’s Indigo Airline, the most ever sold by a single company.
Today we have taken another truly important and very exciting step in the IndiGo journey by placing a firm order for 500 Airbus A320 family aircraft. This is the largest single aircraft purchase by any airline in the world. @Airbus. #goindigopic.twitter.com/8ix3TSivIT
– IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) June 19, 2023
The multi-billion dollar deal tops an agreement Air India struck earlier this year to buy 470 aircraft in preparation for India’s two largest airlines to boost demand for air travel in the region as Indigo’s order to buy the aircraft came from the A320neo family after months of negotiations.
Aviation industry sources told ahead of the show’s opening that a deal for 500 aircraft was imminent. Peter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, said at a press conference, “This is just the beginning and there’s more to come… with the rise of India. and the growth of the Indian aviation market.” Now is the right time to place this order.”
Airbus plans to deliver the aircraft between 2030 and 2035.
Following the signing of the agreement with IndiGo, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said it was too early to consider increasing narrow-body aircraft production to more than 75 per month.
Airbus is facing challenges in restoring production to pre-pandemic levels as it was forced to delay its 2025 target to 2026, but Guillaume Faury said supply disruptions would be a relatively short-term problem. taking into account the delivery time starting from the contract.
Sources told Reuters that Indigo is in separate talks with Airbus and rival Boeing to acquire 25 wide-body aircraft, which could be either an Airbus A330neo or a Boeing 787.
Source: Reuters