India’s biggest budget airline nears decision on widebody jets

INDIGO is exploring the purchase of widebody aircraft, according to sources familiar with the matter, a move that would give Asia’s biggest budget carrier a greater international radius and intensify competition with Air India.

The airline is still considering several options, with an order for about 30 Airbus A350s emerging as the most likely choice, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public. A decision could be announced in the next few weeks, the sources said, cautioning that IndiGo could still change its mind about timing and the number of planes.

IndiGo has repeatedly toyed with the idea of introducing long-haul services to tap the growing pool of affluent Indians flying further afield to places such as the UK and Europe. The low-cost carrier currently operates two Boeing 777s leased from Turkish Airlines to Istanbul and has otherwise built its fleet around single-aisle jets made up almost entirely of Airbus planes.

The airline is already one of Airbus’ largest customers after placing a record-breaking order for 500 A320neo family aircraft last summer. IndiGo now has a backlog of around 1,000 aircraft.

Representatives from Indigo and Airbus declined to comment.

Founded in 2005, IndiGo now operates more than 2,000 flights a day to 118 destinations. In 2023, it became one of just a few airlines that transport more than 100 million passengers a year, a number it plans to double by the end of the decade.

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Branching out into long-haul operations is not without risk for budget airlines. In the past, carriers including Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, AirAsia X and WOW Air have struggled to make the business case work. BLOOMBERG