New Delhi: In just over a year, Air India and IndiGo have announced plans to buy 170 wide-body aircraft as they pursue ambitious expansion and push to make India a global aviation hub. In addition, the order for the two airlines allows European aircraft manufacturer Airbus to enter China’s wide-body aircraft field, which has traditionally been dominated by the American Boeing Company.
If orders for narrowbody aircraft from Air India, IndiGo and Alcasa Air are added, the order book will exceed 1,200 aircraft and that too will be completed in less than 14 months or from February 2023.
India is known as one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world, with a growing fleet of commercial aircraft and ongoing efforts to provide more direct flights to connect Indian cities to foreign shores. Currently, a large portion of international air traffic to and from India passes through overseas hubs, mainly the Gulf region.
After entering Indian skies in 2006, IndiGo on Thursday announced a firm order for 30 A350-900 aircraft from Airbus, with an option to buy another 70 such aircraft.
The total order of 470 aircraft announced by Air India in February last year includes 70 wide-body aircraft – 20 A350-900, 20 A350-1000, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 10 Boeing 777X.
Aviation consultancy CAPA India said on Thursday (April 25) that the long-haul and ultra-long-haul markets are “ripe for disruption until Indian airlines take the lead”.
Apart from wide-body aircraft, Tata Group’s Air India orders include 210 A320 series aircraft and 190 Boeing 737MAX narrow-body aircraft.
In narrow-body aircraft, Akasa Air, which was founded less than two years ago, announced a firm order for 150 Boeing 737 Max aircraft in January 2024, including the 737 Max 10 and 737 Max 8-200 jets.
In early June 2023, IndiGo ordered an additional 500 narrow-body aircraft from Airbus. The airline’s order book has crossed 1,000 aircraft.
According to analysis, domestic airlines are expected to acquire more than 1,600 aircraft in the next few years.
Currently, Air India’s fleet size is over 700 aircraft.
Grounded airline Go First, which has not been operational since May last year, has orders for 72 aircraft.
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